This was such a weird story but I actually really loved it. At times the story was gross & a bit too much information but I could relate to the main character Majella as she reminded me so much of a girl & use to work with in her personality. Majella has autism, her mum is an alcoholic & her dad took off. She works in a chippy 6 days a week & it goes through her every day life & how she copes to certain things. The most action happens in the chippy. At times it was hard to understand the language (it's set in Ireland & based on how they speak or use their language/slang) I know that may put a few people of it. I would have liked a better ending though & it did leave me with a lot of questions but if you want a change from your usual reads I would recommend this one. Loved how it was written by an irish writer not too far from me 😍

Big Girl is Majella O’Neill, an underachieving young woman of stout proportions who is squandering her considerable academic potential by working six nights a week in her local chip shop. The small town is Aghybogey, during the Irish Troubles.

So Majella keeps a list of all the things she doesn’t like, including sub-categories. She also keeps a much shorter list of things she does like, many of which are related to food. She uses these lists to narrate the story of a week following the murder of her grandmother. Given that her father has disappeared ten years ago, Uncle Bobby died while priming a bomb 16 years ago, and her mother is a non-functioning alcoholic, this presents Majella with an opportunity to become an adult and master of her own destiny. Or she could just keep working in the fish shop.

In truth, not much happens during the week; and what does happen is glossed over by Majella as she focuses her thoughts on the foibles of the chip shop regulars, hating alcohol (because of what it is doing to her mother and her home life) and looking for bedding. She drinks a bit, has sex a bit, and eats fish suppers. The charm is in her cynical, comical way of looking at the world, mixed with tragedy that she resolutely refuses to take her place in the real world, instead just hiding behind routines and tics.

Big Girl, Small Town feels like it is mostly back-story. The story of the dead grandmother, although acting as a McGuffin, never really takes off and I’m not sure there’s any real character development. This means that some of the repetitiveness of Majella’s life does seep into the text. There are only so many ways of ordering a fish supper or having banter with your work colleague as you put the chips in the fryer. After we see Majella stand up for herself in the pub, I really hoped for a more optimistic ended, but in truth I feel like that wouldn't have been Majella's way.

What a nice find. This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

I loved this book !! I roared so loud my family thought I’d gone temporarily insane. I see their has been some mixed reviews but I really got this character. My ancestors were from Northern Ireland that’s probably why I got the intentions, tone and language used, and why I chuckled so hard throughout this book. Written as a kind of diary log of her day, we meet all the characters of a small town as they go into Majellas ‘chipper’.
I felt a bit of a perverse voyeur at times reading this book it was so unapologetically vivid as Majella was so open and free with her dialect and actions; possibly due to her autism but I also loved her direct and CBA personality. She likes routine and order and talks unashamedly about sex and bodily functions. I think we can all relate to the characters in this story which makes it feel so familiar. I couldn’t get enough and read this in 2 sittings. Such a refreshing and funny read.

Thank you to John Murray Press, Michelle Gallon & NetGalley UK for this ARC in return for honest and fair review.

Lovely funny light read about the girl we have all been. perfect for a long train journey if you don't mind people seeing you laugh outloud.

'Big Girl, Small Town', is a hilariously bittersweet story of a girl stuck in a rut. She’s incredibly relatable, sharp and works in a chip shop.

This is a quick light read, but one that’s draws you in and keeps you there.

DNF @ 25%

This just wasn't the book for me. I found it really repetitive and could not find it in myself to care about the story. It was bizarre, and at times pretty gross.

I also don't know if it was just the eARC, but the formatting was a mess, with no speech marks which just made me struggle even more.

I started this book, but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me, I didn’t find it funny and tbh I just found it a bit boring. Not to be liking sorry.

I enjoyed this read. It was quirky, an enjoyable read and it drew me right in. It starts after a significant life event when her granny was murdered. The descriptions of small town Ireland were so accurate I could almost smell the vinegar on her chips. It really was well done. Eventhough it dealt with just one week of Majella's life it wasn't slow moving at all. She is on the autism spectrum so her idiosyncrasies can sometimes be amusing. Her mum is a alcoholic and her dad is absent so these so these facts feature in her story. She makes lists and can be quite unmoving. Although this has been compared to Eleanor Oliphant I didn't feel it was quite as good, but it had many good points in it's own right.

Wonderful funny touching. I knew I would love this from the first page and I read it straight through in a few hours enjoying every moment. I had listened to the abridged version on Radio 4 but it is well worth reading the full book. I’d say this is one of my all-time favourite reads. It is different and refreshing. We meet all the characters of a small town as they go into Majellas ‘chipper’. Five stars. Very perceptive. Will definitely read again. Almost feel like starting again at page one just to be in that world again. Brilliant dialogue. A sequence of snapshots. I won’t repeat plot details as other readers have covered that. Talented author. Witty. Knew it would be good if Marian Keyes rated it. This review also appears on Amazon. Thanks to the author and #Netgalley for a review copy.

Hilarious and unapologetically crude, which won't be to everybody's taste! I was equally repulsed and delighted by Majella,who felt very real. It's a brilliant character study and one that doesn't take a traditional route.

Most of the action takes place in the local fish and chip shop, where Majella works (and there is 'action' there definitely). The author really makes it come to life with the smell of the food, the grease in the air and the buzz of the door when another regular pops in.

Majella's relationship with Marty is brilliant, as is her complicated relationship with her mother, which despite being quite problematic, is lightened by the great humour. I particularly loved getting to know the locals, who become stars of the book in their own right.

It took me a bit of time to get used to the dialogue and writing style, but it became an easy read the further on I got, and I was soon sucked into this unique story.

This book wasn't for me unfortunately. I gave it a good try but just cant get into it, I may try it again in the future.

I know Majella’s ma. Maybe not literally, but I know a woman just like her (not my own mum luckily). But the type of mum who sees her teen-to-grown kids as possible drinking buddies and caters, rather than children. As Majella’s ma lies on the sofa under a dirty blanket, drinking constantly and sometimes eating a slice of toast, you think - ah yes, I know that mum.

You know Marty too, from the chippy. Big lad. Friendly but a bit stoic. Flirty but has a missus. Bangs the girl he works with in the fish freezer then goes out for a fag. Always chucks you a bag of chips when you’re short changed.
You might know Majella - she’s been working in the chippy for as long as you remember, the one girl that never really left where you grew up. And she’s had a pretty rubbish time of it, with her ma that likes to drink and her dad that’s jut disappeared and her Nan (god bless her soul) who was murdered. Majella’s quiet but you can tell the inside of her heads racing - she takes an extra second to respond to everything, but she likes the order of things. She seems simple but her brain’s like a massive filing cabinet.

Every night Majella walks home from her shift at the chippy, sticks her takeaway in the microwave and eats with a can of coke. Big Girl, Small Town is a triumph in character study - Gallen inhabits Majella so keenly that she is a living, breathing being climbing from the page. I physically cringed at the smear test, my stomach rumbled at the drunk sweet and sour chicken, I felt nervous at the will-reading. Anyone who likes a character driven narrative that strips away the convention of fussy literature and reveals the pure, animalistic grimy joy of being a human should read this book.

Michelle Gallen demonstrates a confidence and bravery rare for a debut novelist, which results in a unique and distinctive novel in Big Girl, Small Town. It's a great combo if Eleanor Oliphant, The Curious Incident and Derry Girls. A little slow paced at times, it's worth sticking with.

Majella lives in Aghybogey, a small Northern Irish town. She keeps a list in her head of things she doesn't like, but above all else, she dislikes OTHER PEOPLE. She lives with her Ma who has given up on life since her Da disappeared. Ma spends her life in an alcohol and prescription drug haze. Majella works Monday to Saturday in the local chippy, 'Salt and Battered'. She wears the same thing every day, and has the same food every night (fish and chips). Her life is small, and there is much about the world that she doesn't understand. She has no friends, nor significant other, although she does enjoy sex (one of the few things she does like). Majella's life seems so bleak, but when she is unexpectedly bequeathed land and property by her Granny, it seems that she just might have a chance to live a life that she could only have dreamed of.

I really enjoyed this. It took me a while to get to grips with the speech / accents but I loved the character of Majella and her life in a small town. Really interesting characters and well written. Definitely recommended.

Other people find Majella odd. She keeps herself to herself, she doesn't like gossip and she isn't interested in knowing her neighbours' business. But suddenly everyone in the small town in Northern Ireland where she grew up wants to know all about hers.

Since her da disappeared during the Troubles, Majella has tried to live a quiet life with her alcoholic mother. She works in the local chip shop (Monday-Saturday, Sunday off), wears the same clothes every day (overalls, too small), has the same dinner each night (fish and chips, nuked in the microwave) and binge watches Dallas (the best show ever aired on TV) from the safety of her single bed. She has no friends and no boyfriend and Majella thinks things are better that way.

But Majella's safe and predictable existence is shattered when her grandmother dies and as much as she wants things to go back to normal, Majella comes to realise that maybe there is more to life. And it might just be that from tragedy comes Majella's one chance at escape.

I quite enjoyed this story - a little slow to get involved in, but with likeable characters. Many thanks to netgalley for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion,

My thanks to John Murray Press for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Big Girl, Small Town’ by Michelle Gallen in exchange for an honest review. It was published on the 20th February.

This has been dubbed ‘Milkman’ meets ‘The Derry Girls’ and being fans of both Anna Burns’ novel and the tv series, I would certainly agree with this description. I didn’t feel that it was as challenging a read as ‘Milkman’ and was more conventional in its narrative style. I found it a very accessible novel.

The ‘Big Girl’ of the title is twenty-seven year old Majella O’Neil, who lives an ordered life in Aghybogey, Northern Ireland, the fictional ‘Little Town’ close to the Border. Majella works at a local chippy, A Salt and Battered, and the novel records a week in her life that includes her wry observations about her fellow citizens.

Six evenings of the seven she is working, so there’s a fair amount of repetition in terms of taking customers’ orders (‘What can ah get chew?’ and ‘Salt ann vinegar on yer chips?’) and her daily routines.

Her life does change during this particular week as it follows the recent death of her beloved grandmother. Her home life is pretty bleak given that her mother is an alcoholic and extremely lazy. She just seems to yell ‘Majella!’ at the top of her voice and continually demands tea and toast.

It is set after the Troubles and 1998 Belfast Agreement though no specific year is stated but it’s likely the early 2000s. Majella has experienced them and often reflects on past events, especially as her family had been deeply involved in the Republican cause. “it was years before Majella realised that not everyone got a volley of gunshots over their grave.”

The blurb advises that Majella is unaware that she’s autistic. I have to admit that I really didn’t notice and was aware only from this synopsis. Majella is very matter of fact and appears to need her daily routines and a sense of order. She is very frank in terms of language, descriptions of sex and bodily functions. I adored her.

Majella also keeps a list in her head of stuff that she isn’t keen on. This extends to ninety-seven items, with subcategories for each. Selections from this list provide the chapter headings.

Yet in essence: “Sometimes Majella thought that she should condense her whole list of things she wasn’t keen on into a single item: Other People.”

As it had already been published when I started reading, I chose to obtain its audiobook edition, narrated by ‘Derry Girls’ actor Nicola Coughlan, to listen alongside reading the eARC. Nicola captured Majella’s voice perfectly. I felt that it was well suited to an audiobook format; especially given that it is written in a Northern Irish dialect including slang.

I really loved this novel and found it darkly humorous, engaging, and very insightful.

Highly recommended.

Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this one and ended up skimming it to finish. Probably not a reflection on the author at all, but the slow pace & slightly depressing tone just couldn’t keep me interested.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great debut novel! It’s written so well, with such clear insight into the people of this small town in Northern Ireland, that I found myself recognising these types of characters in my own small town south of the border.
Majella, works in her local chippie, never missing a day of work until the recent murder of her Granny. She looks after her alcoholic, attention seeking, mother and reminisces about her times with her father, before he disappeared during the troubles. Majella sees everything in a clear manner and holds no prisoners when it comes to the customers who enter the take away every night. The novel is set during a week of her life and I enjoyed it greatly.
My one critique was that felt it ended so suddenly and I wanted to know what happened next!
Great writing and I will be recommending.