Ordinary Human Failings: A Novel

3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars | 1,192 ratings

Price: 12.49

Last update: 02-13-2025


About this item

When a 10-year-old child is suspected of a violent crime, her family must face the truth about their past in this haunting, propulsive, psychologically keen story about class, trauma, and family secrets from “huge literary talent” (Karl Ove Knausgaard) and internationally bestselling author Megan Nolan.

It's 1990 in London and Tom Hargreaves has it all: a burgeoning career as a reporter, fierce ambition and a brisk disregard for the "peasants"—ordinary people, his readers, easy tabloid fodder. His star seems set to rise when he stumbles across a sensational scoop: a dead child on a London estate, grieving parents beloved across the neighborhood, and the finger of suspicion pointing at one reclusive family of Irish immigrants and “bad apples”: the Greens.

At their heart sits Carmel: beautiful, otherworldly, broken, and once destined for a future beyond her circumstances until life—and love—got in her way. Crushed by failure and surrounded by disappointment, there's nowhere for her to go and no chance of escape. Now, with the police closing in on a suspect and the tabloids hunting their monster, she must confront the secrets and silences that have trapped her family for so many generations.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Mirian Enid Camacho
    4.0 out of 5 stars 3.5
    Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2024
    So, this book interprets the complicity of human life during moments of vulnerability when a reporter tries to find a story and finds one heartbreaking where murder is involved.

    The book has depth and a vision of the
    world of how it's not easy to be young and need to grow up fast, and it is not as easy as it seems. The discovery of needing to grow up fast with complications and consequences.
  • john mccormick
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Second Novel
    Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2024
    ' looked forward to reading this book after having read 'Acts of Desperation ' by this author. It is original, it does not follow any formula. It is, for lack of a better word, existential. If you're looking for a clear narrative and a final resolution, you won't find it in this novel. But the authenticity of the depiction of what real life can be like and its contingencies is rendered masterfully and I would say with empathy. A novel you look forward to reading because of its capacity to take you right inside of the character's inner thoughts and circumstances.
  • Kim B.
    3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, not my favorite.
    Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2025
    Not bad, not my favorite
  • Connie K.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not sure about this
    Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2024
    Not saying anything negative more of a me problem, just didn’t relate to the characters and their struggles. Well written
  • Brittany Sayers
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!!!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2024
    Favorite read of the year. It wasn’t at all what I expected but it was great. Just get it!
  • Tarheelreader
    4.0 out of 5 stars Quirky and complex
    Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2024
    On the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist, and loving a slim book, I simply had to read Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan. What a quirky, in a great way, read!

    A ten year old named Lucy is the prime suspect in a violent crime, which leads to an exploration into her family and its faults, while also addressing class, trauma, and a host of secrets.

    Set in the early 1990s, Tom is a reporter, intent on nabbing the story first when a young girl is missing… He notices immediately that the family of the missing girl is highly regarded; the family of the accused is a troubled family of Irish immigrants.

    The police are closing in on the suspect, and once they do, her family must own up to the trauma present for generations.

    I quickly and easily latched onto this story. It hooked me immediately. Ordinary Human Failing is dark and important… highlighting intergenerational trauma and its consequences. While it’s a complex story with complicated dynamics, it’s also approachable, and once again, slim, packing a punch in a short number of pages.

    I received a gifted copy.
    Customer image
    Tarheelreader
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    Quirky and complex

    Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2024
    On the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist, and loving a slim book, I simply had to read Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan. What a quirky, in a great way, read!

    A ten year old named Lucy is the prime suspect in a violent crime, which leads to an exploration into her family and its faults, while also addressing class, trauma, and a host of secrets.

    Set in the early 1990s, Tom is a reporter, intent on nabbing the story first when a young girl is missing… He notices immediately that the family of the missing girl is highly regarded; the family of the accused is a troubled family of Irish immigrants.

    The police are closing in on the suspect, and once they do, her family must own up to the trauma present for generations.

    I quickly and easily latched onto this story. It hooked me immediately. Ordinary Human Failing is dark and important… highlighting intergenerational trauma and its consequences. While it’s a complex story with complicated dynamics, it’s also approachable, and once again, slim, packing a punch in a short number of pages.

    I received a gifted copy.
    Images in this review
  • Bookwhispererem
    3.0 out of 5 stars Raw exploration of trauma
    Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2024
    3.5 ⭐️ When a 10-year-old named Lucy is arrested for allegedly murdering a toddler, a reporter sees this as an opportunity to get the inside scoop on an outcast Irish family that mysteriously moved to London around the time Lucy was born. “Ordinary Human Failings” explores the traumas, complexities, and secrets of the Green family, centering around Carmel (who had Lucy when she was in her teens), Carmel’s older brother Ritchie (a struggling alcoholic), and their father John (a recent widower consumed with grief), as well as focusing on Tom Hargreaves (the reporter).

    “Ordinary Human Failings” is excellently written, but abundantly sad. It’s certainly not a light read, but is told in such a raw manner that I think it could resonate with a wide audience. I would caution readers to look up potential trigger warnings prior to reading (alcoholism, attempted abortion, PPD, depression).

    I listened to the audiobook version and thought the narrator (Jessica Regan) did a wonderful job—it was probably one of the best narrations of an audiobook I’ve listened to!

    Thank you to #NetGalley and #LittleBrown&Company for the ARC!
  • William L. Korstad
    5.0 out of 5 stars A first class journey inot huamn emotions
    Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2024
    It's a powerful book that deeply explores complex human emotions. It delves into themes of betrayal, redemption, and the complexities of family and friendship as its characters grapple with guilt and seek forgiveness for their past mistakes. Even though it's a story the reader is unlikely to ever experience, the narrative's emotional depth resonates with universal experiences, making it a poignant exploration of human connection and remorse.

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