#Colin Walsh

[luckystarinsky]

"Grief is like falling in love; it is always narcissistic. Some catastrophe cuts through your life and immediately you reshape the world to make this disaster the secret heartbeat of all things, the buried truth of the universe."

- Colin Walsh, Kala

[paperbaacks]

review:

oh this was GOOD!!! such an unexpectedly stunning find too!

i'll be honest, i usually have little expectations from mysteries. not to be like i'm the smartest person in the whole wide world, but i've yet to find a mystery that has truly blown my mind. now that could be because i'm super picky about them — i need a mystery where i don't guess a single plot twist BUT all of them have to be logical. none of that "plot twist for shock value" shit.

so it's not hard to guess why i haven't found the perfect mystery yet.

this, though, came so so close!

the literary aspect of it helped, i think. i was so engrossed in learning more about the characters that i didn't even try to solve the puzzle of kala's disappearance. all the characters were written perfectly. they fit so well with each other as well as into the mystery. even kala, who we only see through other people's memories, felt so real and alive (bad choice of words lol 💀).

when the last piece of the puzzle finally falls into place, it all just makes sense. none of it felt like it was done just for shock value or to catch the reader off guard. and even though in hindsight this reveal is pretty predictable, it was really enjoyable regardless.

very much recommend! give this a try if you want to read some slow burn, literary mysteries.

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Kala | Author: Colin Walsh | Publisher: Atlantic Books (2023)

[ebbarights]

beach reads 2024

this year i didn't read as much as the previous holidays but in exchange all my choices were absolutely lovely, so much so that i want to recommend them all. no summaries because those are available everywhere i want to do OPINIONS

the first book was the bone people by keri hulme. probably to blame for the shortness of this list because while it is very very good, it is also sloooow. beautiful prose, fascinating characters, lovely new zealand atmosphere but also not very much happens. and then everything does. reminded me of what i have heard people say about a little life, frequently caught myself thinking how many bad things can happen to one person without it being ridiculous, but the relationship between the characters pulled me back in. the very graphic description of domestic abuse and how it is. well. not excused but definitely rationalized left me with feelings too fuzzy to put into words. maybe this issue is simply too complex to unpack in a few sentences. i also think that this is a kind of book that would be lovely to read in a book club, especially with other readers who know more about maori culture. feel like i missed a lot of subtext there

second one was kala by colin walsh. loveditloveditlovedit. reminded me of the love of my life tana french so much, and not just because it's irish. the deeply complex and heartbreakingly tragic relationships between its three main characters and their three friends who (excuse my tumblrspeak) haunt the narrative, the blink-and-you-miss-it elements of the supernatural, the feeling that the story is hurtling towards something big and you can do nothing to prevent it, just sit in your lounger and watch. i want to recommend this to all my friends but i'm worried they'll just see it as a fun crime novel

this one is kind of a cheat because i haven't technically finished it yet, but i'm really enjoying perfect sound whatever by james acaster. it's so evident that james loves music, and loves this music specifically, and while the book is funny at times i think its central premise which isn't all that funny is its strongest aspect. it's such a great idea to take a look at all albums published in a singular year, and i think it's effective to start off with the big hitters first (bowie, cohen, beyoncé) to show that 2016 really was an exceptional year for music. but inevitably, the artists become smaller and smaller, and i have found so much great music because of this book that i would never have heard of otherwise. i think this one might not be for fans of *comedian* james acaster, but it definitely is a great read for people who like music

[ferretsarefurryappendagedsnakes]

Wow. This book. This one really hurts your heart. *spoilers below the cut*

My heart is broken for Kala most of all. Just, she deserved so much BETTER. Her story isn’t fair. Like not only everything leading to the disappearance but then that in itself.

She had a nude from her spiraling leaked and rumors spread right before she leaves, except she doesn’t know that will be the last way so many picture her because she thinks she’s doing the right thing, she can’t fix what she is but she can try to fix other things, she was so BRAVE! And then… that.

It’s just so much. And the fact it was her former besties who did the leak. I saw many confused about whether it was Joe or Aoife but I’m pretty confident it was her. That’s something to like about this author, he doesn’t spoon feed you everything, even once all the main plots are revealed there are some details you must piece together yourself. Reasons I think it was her below:

1: Even before Kala drifted and kinda replaced her with Helen, Aoife was saying stuff about her behind her back to Helen already, even going as far as encouraging her to call her Katherine to truly anger her. Not great friendship right there, can see the seed of why Kala might’ve drifted to the next close female friend she’s made since it’s the first one she’s had besides Aoife.

2: Joe left his phone on the table in the scene where Aoife comes over, she sits on his bed. Author makes it a point for Joe to notice the phone was on his bed instead of table after Aoife leaves.

3: The inclusion of the rumors to say Helen & Kala were kissing when that has nothing to do with the image being spread, and then when Adult Aoife meets Helen she even asks “…girlfriend?” In regard to Helen’s relationship status.

So Aoife was jealous and went as far as thinking Kala and Helen MUST like each other in a deeper way for her to get replaced like that, without realizing her own flaws in friendship. And then she’s the only one who seems desperate to forget the past and how her child self is not her adult self, because Adult Aoife knows her hand in what happened to Kala.

And the adults of the past all failed Kala too.

[blogmollylane]

Currently reading: Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

Newly acquired: Kala by Colin Walsh and Mouthing by Orla Mackey

[markagorman]

Recent Reading: Maggie O'Farrell - This Must Be The Place and Instructions For A heatwave

I keep hearing good things about Maggie O’Farrell, the Irishwoman living in my native Edinburgh, and so I’d picked both of the above up in a charity shop some time ago, but left them languishing in my ‘to do’ pile. A conversation with my friend Victoria prompted me to start reading, and I’m glad that I did. Both books share a strong sense of style. O’Farrell densely plots her novels so that…

[kcsplace]

Ted Lasso + Reductress Headlines (1/?)

[under-the-knife]

"These days it's hard not to feel alone"

Window // Tigers Jaw

[colinmorgan-beautifulsmile]

free tickets in the source ⬇️

[babadork]

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

Top 10 Actors 2024

A new year, so I thought I’d post my updated actors I’d like fuck list.

#10. M. Emmet Walsh

A beloved character actor with a long, respectable career with over 200 films and television series. Sure he’s getting a little long in the tooth, but I’d still smash.

WHAT? This guy gave me a lot of j/o material over the years.

#9. Tim Hooper

The only guy on this list I KNOW I have a shot with as he’s gay.

#8. Dakin Matthews

An American actor, playwright, theatre director, and theatrical scholar who has such a cute face making him annoyingly adorable. Dakin has that perfect ‘Grandpa next door… that like to fuck’ look.

#7. Mark Addy

Mark Addy… DAMN. I need a few hours alone with him.

#6. Brett Rice

He’s tall, husky, handsome with a gravelly voice and he quite possibly have an ass that I can work with. Damn right he’s on my to do list. How could I not want to fuck him.

#5. Peter Gerety

An American actor who I’ve been a fan of his for years and every time I saw him on TV I wanted to fuck him silly.

#4. Jack McGee

An American television and film character actor who has appeared in over 100 films and television series. All in all, he’s basically a young Charles Durning, another hot chubby daddy I admired.

#3. Colin Baker

An English actor who played the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1984 to 1986. Discovered him recently and he’s all I can think about now.

#2. Gary Basaraba

Handsome face, hairy, tall husky physique and… that ass… Now that John Goodman has gone thin on us, it’s time we made Gary Basaraba our king!

#1. Brendan Gleeson

An Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two BIFA’s, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award, five times for a Golden Globe Award and once for an Academy Award, but all that pales in comparison in being #1 one on my list. My #1 one ginger daddy.

[letterboxd-loggd]

Last Holiday (1950) Henry Cass

May 14th 2025

[yorkshirewench]

I re-watched this recently and forgot I made a music video for it way back when.

Nothing flashy, just some lovely scenes featuring Elisabeth Dermot Walsh and a very handsome Liam Cunningham.