Washington Independent Review of Books, A Best Book of the Year
Nylon, A Must-Read of the Month
"The raw, lilting poetry of Juno’s voice provides a series of heartbreaking revelations." —Ron Charles, The Washington Post
"Geary finds beauty in the most unlikely places, and in an often brutal story, with more than its fair share of small tragedies, he offers balm along the way; a reminder that humanity is everywhere, if we take the time to look, and a clear demonstration that family is less about genetics and more about love." —Joanna Cannon, The Guardian
"Karl Geary’s sophomore novel flirts with and then darkly subverts the marriage plot, killing off the nuclear family in an attempt to remake it, with a difference." —Annabel Barry, Chicago Review of Books
"Mesmerizing . . . [A] defiant second novel." —Eric Olson, The Adroit Journal
"Juno Loves Legs is a gorgeous, devastating ode to the sustaining power of friendship, as well as exquisitely atmospheric portrait of a city. A great Dublin novel. A great novel, period." —Dan Sheehan, Literary Hub, A Most Anticipated Book of the Year
"If you are in the mood for a novel that will rip your heart out and slap you repeatedly in the face with it, have I got a recommendation for you . . . [A] beautiful tale of survival and how friendship can be a salvation." —Liberty Hardy, Book Riot
"Shuggie Bain vibes abound in this tenderhearted tale." —Michelle Hart, An Electric Literature Most Anticipated Book of 2023
"Juno Loves Legs is tender and heartbreaking. Young friendship takes on all the world's challenges—love, art, family, the simple and overwhelming task of survival—with tragic, poignant results. Readers will find Juno's bravado and Legs's persistent sweetness unforgettable." —Shelf Awareness
"Juno's combination of vulnerability and hard edges lends her a tender toughness that makes it impossible to turn away. Geary's writing is wonderfully revealing and beautiful, particularly when describing characters' clothing, which is often used to show or hide their emotions. Altogether achingly memorable." —Booklist (starred review)
"Heartbreaking . . . Geary often finds poetry in Juno’s plainspoken narration, whether in lucid reflections on the brutality at the school or in Juno’s openhearted wonder at Dublin . . . The blistering dialogue, too, captures the characters’ hard-won wisdom . . . This is one to savor." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Geary uses gorgeous prose, full of Irish lilt and hard-edged slang, to describe bleak childhoods as harsh as any found in a Dickens novel . . . Poignant . . . Evocative." —Kirkus Reviews
"An unforgettable portrait of two young misfits bound together by hard Dublin childhoods. It's an ode to love, to the salvation of friendship, and to the families we build when our own families fail us. Filled with loss and longing, it is by turns brutal and tender, and in the end, utterly devastating. The characters are so real, so desperate to be loved, that the reader will want to reach through the pages and hold them. The effect is extraordinary. Juno Loves Legs broke my heart. I never wanted it to end." —Douglas Stuart, author of Young Mungo and Shuggie Bain
"The characters are three-dimensional and sympathetic as they struggle to overcome the cruel circumstances of their lives . . . Atmospheric." —Library Journal
"An original and exquisitely tender story of two misfits who find love in an often callous and indifferent world, Juno Loves Legs will haunt you long after you have read it. In gorgeous, effortless prose, Karl Geary bears witness to those who, like his protagonists, are invisible and voiceless. By boldly confronting the darkness, this novel finds the light." —Gabriel Byrne, author of Walking with Ghosts
"A tender, wrenching portrait of two young outsiders searching for sanctuary in the bruised hearts of one another. Geary’s exquisitely rendered Dublin is at times a bleak place, but that darkness is defiantly illuminated by the humor and humanity of his unforgettable protagonist. You will ache for Juno." —Dan Sheehan, author of Restless Souls
"Karl Geary writes devastatingly beautiful novels. Juno and Legs will break your heart in the very best way and leave you laughing in spite of yourself. It's a perfectly drawn portrait of lives lived boldly on the edge of disaster. A backstreet epic. I literally couldn't put it down." —Jan Carson, author of The Raptures
★ 02/06/2023
Geary’s heartbreaking latest (after Montpelier Parade) follows a pair of childhood friends as they age out of a hardscrabble Irish housing estate. Violence and religion define the constrained lives of Juno and her friend, Seán (nicknamed Legs), in the 1980s. They unite against abuse from nuns, priests, and playmates at their primary school where, as Juno narrates, “all the meanness in the world begins with a kind voice.” After they act out by dumping cement down toilets, a subsequent act of vengeance on an abusive priest at their school sends Legs to juvenile detention until he’s 18. Then, following a devastating loss in Juno’s family, she drops out of secondary school and lives rough in Dublin. Her reunion with a sickly Legs after he’s released is bittersweet, and he confesses the truth behind the incident that sent him to detention. Geary often finds poetry in Juno’s plainspoken narration, whether in lucid reflections on the brutality at the school or in Juno’s openhearted wonder at Dublin, where she discovers “the world was another, a vast other.” The blistering dialogue, too, captures the characters’ hard-won wisdom (“see everything, believe nothing, and definitely, don’t ever lend money,” a thrift store proprietor tells Juno). This is one to savor. (Apr.)
12/01/2022
A coming-of-age tale set in 1980s Dublin, Geary's second novel (following his debut, Montpelier Parade) revolves around two outcasts (the titular Juno and Legs) who form a friendship of necessity at their Catholic school, where they suffer abuse from both their fellow students and the parochial leaders. The narrative is first-person from Juno's perspective as she navigates adolescence and extreme poverty, often completely alone, often experiencing severe trauma. Besides class, religion, and companionship, queerness is a theme explored toward the end of the text, but it's only alluded to so vaguely beforehand that it almost feels like an afterthought. Geary uses dialect in a way that immerses readers in the Irish setting without being distracting or overwhelming, and the characters are three-dimensional and sympathetic as they struggle to overcome the cruel circumstances of their lives. The novel is straightforward and clearly divides Juno's life into distinct periods. It is not plot-driven, however, instead using a "slice-of-life" approach to more thoroughly examine the characters. VERDICT Might appeal to readers who enjoy bleak, atmospheric, character-driven novels, and would be an appropriate addition to any fiction collection.—Heather Sheahan
2023-02-08
A twisted coming-of age-story concerning two young outsiders unable and unwilling to fit into the narrow confines of their small Irish village or, later, into more sophisticated Dublin.
Geary uses gorgeous prose, full of Irish lilt and hard-edged slang, to describe bleak childhoods as harsh as any found in a Dickens novel. When 12-year-old Juno first meets Legs, their crises at home and school veer close to clichés about the downtrodden: There are Juno’s useless alcoholic father and worn-down seamstress mother whose clients seldom pay; Legs’ absent father and rigid mother ready to send him to a “special” school to cure him of his sinful artistic effeminacy; hostile classmates who shun Juno for her poverty and Legs for his otherness; the priest in charge of the school who beats and humiliates them. Juno and Legs establish their bond after she stands up for him against playground bullies and he distracts the priest with misbehavior to protect her from mortification in the classroom. Narrator Juno takes up most of the emotional space here, showing in detail her troubled mix of good intentions, self-destructive combativeness, and constant sense of guilt. Juno’s longings tend to erupt in spur-of-the-moment acts—breaking a neighbor’s flowerpot, punching someone’s nose, taking her first drink—that make her life worse. Seen only through Juno’s eyes, Legs is harder to read because Juno knows only what he tells her. Then an explosion of Legs' rage against the priest leads to years of forced separation from Juno. Even when they reconnect in Dublin, where Legs, now a member of the artistic demimonde, takes in Juno, who is on the skids, he remains enigmatic until a rush of last-minute revelations. Inescapable poverty, homelessness, alcoholism, the unnamed “plague” frightening gay Dubliners in the 1980s—much of the novel is almost unbearably grim, making the occasional glimpses of real kindness Juno and Legs experience that much more poignant.
An evocative, effective dive into dark if too familiar waters.