A wife is abandoned by her new husband in a ghost estate, with blood on her hands; a young woman is tormented by visions of the man murdered by her brother during the Troubles; a pregnant mother fears the worst as her husband grows illegal cannabis with the help of a vulnerable teenage girl; a woman struggles to forgive herself after an abortion threatens to destroy her marriage.

Announcing a major new voice in literary fiction for the twenty-first century, these sharp shocks of stories offer flashes of beauty, and even humour, amidst the harshest of truths.

“A hugely impressive and memorable collection. I adored these downbeat, stirring, disconcerting, punchy, touching, believable short stories, so skilfully and beautifully executed” –  Joseph O’Connor,

“What a collection of stories! One of the best I’ve ever read: funny and searing and true” –  Sarah Crossan,

“Louise Kennedy is a wonderful writer: her characterization is compelling, her style a stimulating mix of the plainspoken and luminous, and her sense of place assured. In The End of the World is a Cul-De-Sac, she has produced a remarkable collection of short stories.” –  Nick Laird,

“Darkly funny, beautifully crafted, intense – this is an outstanding first collection from a natural story writer” –  Kevin Barry,