The Black Pool

A Memoir of Forgetting

By: Tim MacGabhann

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Paperback | 9 September 2025 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
256 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.3 x 15.3 x 2.0

Paperback

RRP $32.99

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''An unforgettable, freewheeling masterclass''
MICHAEL MAGEE, Nero Book Award-winning author of Close to Home

''Funny, nerve-wracking and utterly compelling''
COLIN BARRETT, Booker Prize-longlisted author of Wild Houses

''Extraordinary... A writer with a rare gift. I feel changed by it''
BELINDA MCKEON, author of Solace

''I was floored by the power and beauty of this book''
DONAL RYAN, author of The Queen of Dirt Island

Prepare to look into The Black Pool and see a little part of yourself reflected back''
JAN CARSON, EU Prize for Literature-winning author of The Raptures

''Simultaneously tender, raw, profound, hilarious and horrible, guiding us through a nightmare into beautiful, hard-won wisdom''
LISA MCINERNEY, Women''s Prize for Fiction-winning author of The Glorious Heresies

Following an obsessive mind trying (and failing) to find relief, The Black Pool is a gripping thrill-ride through violent, chaotic underworlds. Tracing the roots of an illness through the failures of youth and adolescence and finally back to childhood, it''s about all the wrong places where addicts look for transcendence - from work, to relationships, to writing, to anger.
The Black Pool shows what happens when everything falls apart. It shows us rock bottom and the start of the journey to the surface from there. It''s a memoir shot full of holes and shocking clarities. Towards the end, it achieves something like serenity - something like recovery.

Industry Reviews

PRAISE FOR TIM MACGABHANN'S CALL HIM MINE

A Telegraph Thriller of the Year

'A wild ride' IAN RANKIN

'Tough and uncompromising: you'll be glad you read it' LEE CHILD

'Gripping from beginning to end' INDEPENDENT

'Pacy and exciting' DAILY TELEGRAPH

'Vivid and lyrical' GUARDIAN

'MacGabhann paints an extraordinarily vivid picture of Mexico, in all its seething, sweltering madness and beauty' IRISH INDEPENDENT

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