Ordinary Human Failings A Novel
Ordinary Human Failings A Novel by Megan Nolan, published by Little Brown on July 8, 2025, is a 224-page work that delves into the complexities of family dynamics and societal issues. Set in 1990 London, the narrative begins when a 10-year-old child is suspected of a violent crime, prompting her family to confront their troubled past. The story unfolds through the eyes of Tom Hargreaves, a reporter whose ambition leads him to a sensational scoop involving a dead child and a family of Irish immigrants, revealing the darker undercurrents of class and trauma.
Readers will find a psychologically nuanced exploration of family secrets and societal perceptions as the plot thickens around the Greens, a family grappling with their own failures and disappointments. The novel intricately weaves themes of crime and family life, examining how the weight of the past influences the present. As the police investigation intensifies and media scrutiny escalates, Carmel, a central character, must face the hidden truths that have long haunted her family. This edition offers a compelling look at the intersections of personal and societal struggles, making it a significant addition to contemporary literary fiction.
Official synopsis Publisher
When a 10-year-old child is suspected of a violent crime, her family must face the truth about their past in this haunting, propulsive, psychologically keen story about class, trauma, and family secrets from “huge literary talent” (Karl Ove Knausgaard).
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It’s 1990 in London and Tom Hargreaves has it all: a burgeoning career as a reporter, fierce ambition and a brisk disregard for the “peasants” — ordinary people, his readers, easy tabloid fodder. His star seems set to rise when he stumbles across a sensational scoop: a dead child on a London estate, grieving parents beloved across the neighborhood, and the finger of suspicion pointing at one reclusive family of Irish immigrants and “bad apples”: the Greens.
At their heart sits Carmel: beautiful, otherworldly, broken, and once destined for a future beyond her circumstances until life – and love – got in her way. Crushed by failure and surrounded by disappointment, there’s nowhere for her to go and no chance of escape. Now, with the police closing in on a suspect and the tabloids hunting their monster, she must confront the secrets and silences that have trapped her family for so many generations.
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