Born in Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland on the 4th of April 1963, Graham William Walker was born at 48 St. Brigid’s Road. Growing up in the town of Bandon, County Cork, to a Protestant family, his father was, William, was a Guinness sales representative, while his mother was Rhoda Walker. Educated at Bandon Grammar School based in County Cork, he would later go on to graduate from University College Cork.

Declan's wife left him. He doesn't want to talk about it. Not to his young children, son Killan and daughter Sally, and not to the gossip mongers in the town in Ireland. No one really understands why she let. But one thing is for sure. Her children can't forgive her. I really hope readers enjoy losing themselves in the twists and turns of this tale as much as I have." WE NEED AN AUDIOBOOK VERSION ADDED FOR THIS NEW NOVEL PLEASE. LINK BELOW. THANK YOU: Forever Home, A Novel By: Graham Norton; Narrated by: Graham Norton From that one awful moment, the story jumps around in time, following Connor and his friends and family across decades and oceans as they puzzle out their relationships to home and identity — and uncover the secrets that led to the crash.The blurb reads: “Carol is a divorced teacher living in a small town in Ireland, her only son now grown up. From there, we look at the relationships between women - the mothers, daughters, friends, and step-children in the stories, leading towards a surprising conclusion.

This is a character-driven story and all are well depicted especially the matriarch, Moira~ my absolute favorite character! She brings humor and spunk to this mixed cozy mystery and dark comedy story. Graham Norton is a comedian, a TV chat show host and this is his third novel. The story takes us from 1987 through to the noughties. We don't know the full story when the book begins but it slowly unfolds whilst reading. This is quite an emotional read. There is quite a lot of characters but they all have their part to play. The book is written that well that you go through the emotions of the characters. I found this a thought provoking and enjoyable read. This is Graham Norton's best book so far. I loved it. Carol is a very meek and taken advantage of main character. We learn that she began dating a fellow teacher who was much older than her and caused the gossip mill to go into overdrive.SHAPIRO: This novel, "Forever Home," unfolds from so many different perspectives. We see chapters through the eyes of different narrators. Was there one character who was your inroad to this story? I know Graham Norton as a tv presenter, an actor and a talk show host. I’m aware that he has published some novels in the last few years but this is the first one I have read and it was enjoyable overall. Not quite a slow burner but the more I read it the more I enjoyed it. I feel the first half is stronger than the second where there are moments I caught myself daydreaming. There are secrets that are waiting to come out and twists you may or may not have guessed! The conclusion was a happy and satisfying one. Overall, I had a wonderful time listening to Graham Norton's delightful narration. 3.5⭐ I've been a fan of the Graham Norton Show for so long. This is my first novel by him and little did I know that he's a great writer as well! I love how his humor is shown throughout the entire book. I really enjoyed Forever Home and I can equally imagine reading it on holiday somewhere sunny as I could whilst curled up inside when it's chilly outside. If you fancy something character-based with an interesting cast of characters and a great mix of dark and comic moments, this is the novel for you!

NORTON: Yeah. No, I remember I did a little talk for a youth group in Bantry, County Cork, which is a tiny town. And this girl put her hand up to ask a question, and she was like, what's it like being famous? And I was thinking, well, that's - you know, I understand why she's asking that, but how on earth do you answer that question? And then it came to me - that, oh, it's like living in Bantry. You know, everyone knows your business, and there's people you want to avoid in the supermarket. SHAPIRO: Everyone feels like they know you so well from television, from podcasts, from live events.NORTON: I mean, they're not autobiographical, but, you know, if you read any novel, it does give you an insight into who wrote it because, you know, it all came out of their head. So these people in this novel - you know, they borrow from me. They borrow from people I know. They borrow from people I've met. So it's kind of an amalgamation of all of that. So, you know, if somebody wanted to psychoanalyze me to the Nth degree, it's all laid bare.. The reason why I didn’t rate this a 3 was because of one truly *awful* decision relating to Connor and a younger man he meets in a bar midway through the book. I won’t spoil, but the decision to put that in the novel was so ill advised and gross that it truly put me off the novel. Graham Norton is a UK based entertainer, who is best known for his television work. In 2016, the comedian released his debut fiction title, Holding, to great acclaim. Norton has followed up the success of this release with A Keeper in 2018 and Home Stretch in 2020. Home Stretch is a story of loss, desire, identity, belonging, tragedy and family ties. Graham Norton’s latest is an affective slice of fiction. Home Stretch” is unapologetically Irish and portrays the quirks of Irish society flawlessly, possibly sometimes at the risk of alienating those not from the country.