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The City Changes Its Face

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Pub Date Aug 26 2025 | Archive Date Aug 31 2025

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Description

"So, all would be grand then, as far as the eye could see. Which it was, for a while. Up until the city, remembering its knives and forks, invited itself in to dine."

It’s 1995. Outside their grimy window, the city rushes by. But in the flat there is only Stephen and Eily. Their bodies, the tangled sheets. Unpacked boxes stacked in the kitchen and the total obsession of new love.

Eighteen months later, the flat feels different. Love is merging with reality. Stephen’s teenage daughter has re-appeared, while Eily has made a choice, the consequences of which she cannot outrun. Now they face a reckoning for all that's been left unspoken - emotions, secrets and ambitions. Tonight, if they are to find one another again, what must be said aloud?

Love rallies against life. Time tells truths. The city changes its face.

"So, all would be grand then, as far as the eye could see. Which it was, for a while. Up until the city, remembering its knives and forks, invited itself in to dine."

It’s 1995. Outside their grimy...


Advance Praise

A most anticipated novel of 2025 according to the Guardian, Financial Times, Irish Times, New Statesman, Independent, Sunday Times, and Stylist

"One of the finest writers at work today." ANNE ENRIGHT

"Her prose is as haunting and moving as music." ELIZABETH MCCRACKEN

"McBride is a cartographer of the secret self, guiding us towards hidden treasure." CLAIRE KILROY

A most anticipated novel of 2025 according to the Guardian, Financial Times, Irish Times, New Statesman, Independent, Sunday Times, and Stylist

"One of the finest writers at work today." ANNE ENRIGHT

...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780571384211
PRICE $29.00 (USD)
PAGES 336

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Average rating from 5 members


Featured Reviews

If there's one thing about me, I'm going to read a novel by an Irish author. Especially one who has written works that I've fallen in love with previously. In the case of Eimear McBride, they check both boxes. Irish writer and wrote one of my favorite novels of all time, A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing.

I'll say this and this only about The City Changes Its Face: it was superb and I have no notes. I want to read it again already.

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A hypnotic, unconventional novel, The City Changes Its Face is a masterclass in poetic prose and psychological depth. Eily and Grace navigate a shifting urban landscape where emotions blur into fragmented thoughts and half-formed truths. McBride’s signature stream-of-consciousness style immerses readers in an intense, atmospheric experience—one that won’t be for everyone but will deeply resonate with those who appreciate literary experimentation. While the tonal shift in the second half may not land as strongly, the novel remains a haunting, thought-provoking read. Fans of plays, metaphor-laden narratives, and introspective fiction should not miss this.

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