Home Stretch

By: Graham Norton

Narrated by: Graham Norton

Compelling new novel of stigma and secrecy from Sunday Times best seller.

It is 1987, and a small Irish community is preparing for the wedding of two of its young inhabitants. They're barely adults, not so long out of school and still part of the same set of friends they've grown up with. As the friends head home from the beach that last night before the wedding, there is a car accident. Three survive the crash, but three are killed. And the reverberations are felt throughout the small town.

Connor, the young driver of the car, lives. But staying among the angry and the mourning is almost as hard as living with the shame and so he leaves the only place he knows for another life.

Travelling first to Liverpool, then London, by the noughties he has made a home - of sorts - for himself in New York.

The city provides shelter and possibility for the displaced, somewhere Connor can forget his past and forge a new life.

But the secrets, the unspoken longings and regrets that have come to haunt those left behind will not be silenced. And before long, Connor will have to meet his past.

©2020 Graham Norton (P)2020 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Stunning!

Oh how I cried! A tragic yet moving story that keeps you wanting. Bravo Graham, Bravo!

Amazing listen and wonderful story

Loved this so much I listened to it in one sitting! Graham Norton narrates it perfectly, I absolutely loved the story I was hooked throughout and there were surprises along the way. Highly recommend !!!

I’m 57 and a Aussie and loved the story

I’m 57 and a Aussie and loved the story
Good story to get lost in and relaxed

Great escape and fab to hear Graham’s narration!

Really enjoyed this bit of escapism to Ireland and nyc. A good story, well told.

Wonderful book

I really enjoyed Graham Norton’s novels before this one, but this exceeded even those. It’s a beautiful portrayal of families, Ireland, loneliness and belonging, none of which is overdone or melodramatic. Norton is an excellent narrator, and the characters were flawed but relatable, navigating a realistic story throughout generations of change. Loved it.

Another gentle gem

Graham Norton tells a hopeful story set in a nominal village in Ireland that ventures not far from normal events in order to explore life and loss, and the arc of gay awareness and acceptance in their everyday culture. This is done with his signature mix of gravity and lightness as to help us stay grounded in the truth of his story.

Predictably lovely

Wonderfully read by Graham Norton, it’s like listening to an old friend recount a tale. Slightly predictable in parts, but thoroughly enjoyable

A most enjoyable read, although it made me angry..

I felt so sad for all the lost years that the family suffered, just because one person felt it was their right to hide the truth, at whatever cost. I couldng stop reading the book, so engrossed was I, and of course the cherry on top was Graham Norton's narration. He was excellent in all the parts.
I highly recommend this book.

Family drama/coming of age story, uneven in parts

It was kind of fun to hear Graham Norton read his own novel. The story was quite entertaining from a character point of view, but the plot twists were so glaringly obvious and some of the descriptive passages really could have used a bit more tough love from an editor. still, it helped pass the time on long car rides.