Thirst Trap
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Pan Macmillan
Published:12th Jun '25
Should be back in stock very soon
A wildly original and brilliantly assured debut set in modern Belfast: full of the pain, joy and bad decisions arising from young friendship, grief and bad house shares.
A wildly original debut set in Belfast: full of the pain, joy and bad decisions arising from young friendship, grief and bad house shares.
A Most-Anticipated Novel of 2025 - DAZED, Irish Times, RTÉ
'Hilarious and gut-wrenching' - Alice Slater, author of Death of a Bookseller
'Think Dolly Alderton, but with the sharp edges of Eliza Clark' - Independent
Sometimes friends hold you together.
Sometimes they’re why you’re falling apart.
Maggie, Harley and Róise are friends on the brink: of triumph, catastrophe, or maybe just finally growing up. Their crumbling Belfast houseshare has been witness to their roaring twenties, filled with questionable one-night stands and ruthless hangovers. But now fault-lines are beginning to show.
The three girls are still grieving the tragic death of their friend, Lydia, whose room remains untouched. Their last big fight hangs heavy over their heads, unspoken since the accident. And now they are all beginning to unravel.
Thirst Trap by Gráinne O'Hare is a blazing, bittersweet, bitingly funny, and painfully relatable story about the friendships that endure through the very best and the very worst of times.
'Compulsively readable and brilliant on friendship and grief. I raced through it' - Daily Mail
'Like the literary love child of Miranda July and Carrie Fisher, transposed in Belfast - hilarious, smart and chaotic in the best way' - Louise Nealon, author of Snowflake
Readers are raving about Thirst Trap:
'Made me laugh and cry in equal measure'
'Laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving . . . I loved every page of it.’
'Sharp, funny, and deeply relatable'
'This book is the moment'
'I mourned this being over. It’s sad and beautiful and real and messy. It’s perfect'
'Hilarious and gut-wrenching' -- Alice Slater, author of Death of a Bookseller
'Brilliant. The characters were so warm and real, I felt like I knew them. A beautiful look at friendship and transition, it was funny, bittersweet, and honest' -- Chloe Michelle Howarth, author of Sunburn
It’s compulsively readable and brilliant on friendship and grief. I raced through it -- Daily Mail
Think Dolly Alderton, but with the sharp edges of Eliza Clark . . . O’Hare has a true gift for a visceral simile, her sandpapery prose scribbling vivid pictures of messy pleasure that you can practically smell off the tequila-soaked page * The Independent *
An absolute riot - funny, compassionate, observant and wise . . . O'Hare attends so closely, so wittily and so empathetically to every single one of these characters . . . enormously impressive and fun * The Irish Times *
'A triumph. Gráinne O’Hare is like the literary love child of Miranda July and Carrie Fisher, transposed in Belfast - hilarious, smart and chaotic in the best way' -- Louise Nealon, author of Snowflake
Raucous, sexy and f*cking hilarious. A heady mix of Michael Magee's Close to Home and Lena Dunham's Girls. Everybody should read this book. -- Aimée Walsh, author of Exile
'It’s one of those novels that you can’t believe is a debut. O’Hare is a writer to watch out for in 2025 and beyond' * RTÉ *
'A rising star of the Belfast New Wave . . . a book is for anyone who has found themselves on the fraying end of a close friendship, appreciates comedy or experienced their twenties in a blur of high emotion' -- The Irish Post
High-velocity, hilarious, and rooted in the chaos and absolute commitment of female friendship. I love her work -- Naomi Booth, author of raw content
Highly-relatable. A brilliant portrayal of grief — and of growing up. Written with humour, hope, and warmth * Irish Examiner *
ISBN: 9781035046195
Dimensions: 226mm x 146mm x 28mm
Weight: 396g
288 pages