Author/Uploaded by Karl Geary
Contents Cover Title Page Contents Dedication Part One Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Ch...
Contents Cover Title Page Contents Dedication Part One Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Part Two Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Part Three Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Acknowledgments About the Author Copyright Guide Cover Part One Contents i ii iii iv v 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 vi Praise for Juno Loves Legs “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, Juno Loves Legs 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.” —DOUGLAS STUART, author of Young Mungo and Shuggie Bain “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 “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 “A sensitive, wrenching portrait of two young outsiders searching for sanctuary in the bruised hearts of each other. 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 ALSO BY KARL GEARY Montpelier Parade Contents Part One Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Part Two Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Part Three Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Acknowledgments In memory of Angie. One If the young are not initiated into the village, they will burn it down just to feel its warmth. AFRICAN PROVERB 1 Be still,’ says Mam and with one hand she folded a piece of cream satin material along the nape of Miss Anderson’s neck, with her other hand she pulled the fabric tighter across her waist and, taking a pin from the collection she held in her mouth, pinned it. Mam’s hands were spotless clean but her nails were stained and it made them look dirty even though she scrubbed them with a nailbrush and soap, and even though we only had cold water, they were clean. Her hand crossed down the arch of Miss Anderson’s back. Under the lightbulb, the material shimmered. I wanted to touch it. My hands were dirty. She stood back and her eyes watched around Miss Anderson’s figure for that sharp edge where the wedding dress met the world. She told her again, ‘Be still,’ so the woman stood with her arms draped at her side, unnatural as a moulded figure stuck on a wedding cake. Mam picked up the trail of the dress: she knew the weight of fabric. She dropped