Dog-Eared Books Official Book Club

The Dog-Eared Books “Official” Book Club reads and discusses noteworthy new fiction and nonfiction titles. Join us!

In the seaside town of Kinlough, on Ireland’s west coast, three old friends are thrown together for the first time in years. They—Helen, Joe, and Mush—were part of an original group of six inseparable teenagers in the summer of 2003, with motherless, reckless Kala Lanann as their group’s white-hot center. Soon after that summer’s peak, Kala disappeared without a trace.

Now it’s fifteen years later: Helen has reluctantly returned to Ireland for her father’s wedding; Joe is a world-famous musician, newly back in town; and Mush has never left, too scared to venture beyond the counter of his mother’s café.

But human remains have been discovered in the woods. Two more girls have gone missing. And as past and present begin to collide, the estranged friends are forced to confront their own complicity in the events that led to Kala’s disappearance.

Against the backdrop of a town suffocating on its own secrets, in a story that builds from a smolder to a stunning climax, Kala brilliantly examines the sometimes brutal costs of belonging, as well as the battle in the human heart between vengeance and forgiveness, despair and redemption.

Purchase a copy to read, or grab it from the library, and join us October 19, for a thoughtful and entertaining discussion about Kala by Colin Wash. This book club is free to anyone who wishes to participate. No registration necessary.

Content Warnings for Official Book Club 2023
Content Warnings for Kala
Content Warnings for Yellowface
Content Warnings for Tom Lake