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Cold Water
Carmel McKisco is wry, volatile and full of a twenty-year-old girl working nights in a Manchester dive bar. Cut off from her family, and from Tony, her carefree ex, she forges strange alliances with her customers, and daydreams, half-heartedly, about escaping to Cornwall.Cold Water is a poignant picaresque of barmaids and barflies; eccentric individuals all somehow tethered to their past - not least Carmel herself, who is nurturing mordant fixations on both her lost love, Tony, and her washed-up adolescent a singer from Macclesfield. As she spins out the days and nights of an unrelentingly rainy winter she finds herself compelled to confront her romantic preoccupations, for better or worse.
148 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
February 25, 2017
Gwendoline Riley's first novel - incidentally, a book I came to be interested in through a mention in Nicholas Royle's First Novel - is one of the shortest books I have ever read. At 160 pages, it's extremely slim, and the type is quite large, with big margins on every page. Given this fact, you would expect it to be pretty powerful stuff - and in some ways, it is. It's a portrait of Carmel, a twenty-year-old who works as a barmaid in a Manchester dive bar and is mourning the end of a short-lived relationship, and it's quite obviously based heavily on the author's own life. Riley's observations are sharp, the language and imagery is at times quite poetic, and although I did feel that not a word in this book was wasted, I was left with a sense of disappointment and mild frustration at the end: the story just wasn't what I hoped it would be.
When I started reading this, I thought I couldn't fail to 'get' a story about a young woman who doesn't know where she's going or what she's doing in life, particularly as it's set in (and regularly mentions, in detail, various parts of) Manchester, where I went to university. However, I found I just couldn't relate to anything about Carmel; her occasional vulnerability was the only likeable thing about her, and the way she lived and behaved was a mystery to me. I couldn't really understand why she would spend any time around some of the characters she was drawn to, and the intricacies of her friendships were alien to me too. There was also something about the whole thing that felt oddly dated - so much so that when the prices of certain items were mentioned (£15 buying two paperbacks, for example) I was shocked because I kept thinking the story was taking place in a much earlier time period, early 1990s at the latest - although perhaps this was deliberate. (The author was around the same age as her protagonist when she wrote the book, so it doesn't make much sense otherwise.)
I wish I'd read this when I was 20 and living in Manchester myself. I don't think I would have related to Carmel any more than I did reading it now, but I would have looked at the story from a different perspective and probably found it more exciting. I had another book by Riley checked out of the library (Sick Notes) but after finishing this - and flicking through that one to find it seemed very similar indeed to Cold Water - I took it back without reading it. I have a feeling I don't really need to read anything else by the author to get the measure of her style, and since I wasn't enormously impressed by this book, I'm not going to investigate her oeuvre any further.
When I started reading this, I thought I couldn't fail to 'get' a story about a young woman who doesn't know where she's going or what she's doing in life, particularly as it's set in (and regularly mentions, in detail, various parts of) Manchester, where I went to university. However, I found I just couldn't relate to anything about Carmel; her occasional vulnerability was the only likeable thing about her, and the way she lived and behaved was a mystery to me. I couldn't really understand why she would spend any time around some of the characters she was drawn to, and the intricacies of her friendships were alien to me too. There was also something about the whole thing that felt oddly dated - so much so that when the prices of certain items were mentioned (£15 buying two paperbacks, for example) I was shocked because I kept thinking the story was taking place in a much earlier time period, early 1990s at the latest - although perhaps this was deliberate. (The author was around the same age as her protagonist when she wrote the book, so it doesn't make much sense otherwise.)
I wish I'd read this when I was 20 and living in Manchester myself. I don't think I would have related to Carmel any more than I did reading it now, but I would have looked at the story from a different perspective and probably found it more exciting. I had another book by Riley checked out of the library (Sick Notes) but after finishing this - and flicking through that one to find it seemed very similar indeed to Cold Water - I took it back without reading it. I have a feeling I don't really need to read anything else by the author to get the measure of her style, and since I wasn't enormously impressed by this book, I'm not going to investigate her oeuvre any further.
December 7, 2022
A short, vibes-based barfly novel. The characters and setting are well-observed. Halfway through I realized the dialogue was dated, but in the best sense, because it brought me back to that time and place.
Felt a weird reverie, because I was only a kid then, in the late 90s/early aughts, but this was the future I was preparing for, both looking forward to and dreading, but for better or worse it was robbed from us by the internet. On the one hand, there was possibility. You didn't know what the future was going to hold and what strange culture, art, or people you were going to meet. On the other hand, there was also a sort of staleness. An awareness that it was all too easy to fall into a rut and never meet likeminded people or find the ideas that would spark something inside of you. The internet (which is never even mentioned in this novel) kept getting faster and faster and took that away. Art is no longer connected to any material culture, and it's so easy to find online that it comes looking for you. With people it's still a little harder, there's still a great deal of loneliness, but it's easier than ever to find community by going online, and you don't even have to swear allegiance to some dumb countercultural tribe.
None of this has much to do with the novel, except that I think Riley inadvertently captured that era quite well. Looking forward to reading more of her novels.
Felt a weird reverie, because I was only a kid then, in the late 90s/early aughts, but this was the future I was preparing for, both looking forward to and dreading, but for better or worse it was robbed from us by the internet. On the one hand, there was possibility. You didn't know what the future was going to hold and what strange culture, art, or people you were going to meet. On the other hand, there was also a sort of staleness. An awareness that it was all too easy to fall into a rut and never meet likeminded people or find the ideas that would spark something inside of you. The internet (which is never even mentioned in this novel) kept getting faster and faster and took that away. Art is no longer connected to any material culture, and it's so easy to find online that it comes looking for you. With people it's still a little harder, there's still a great deal of loneliness, but it's easier than ever to find community by going online, and you don't even have to swear allegiance to some dumb countercultural tribe.
None of this has much to do with the novel, except that I think Riley inadvertently captured that era quite well. Looking forward to reading more of her novels.
March 30, 2023
3.5
I didn't enjoy this as much as My Phantoms but it grew on me as I read it.
Carmel lives in Manchester, does dead end jobs and spends the rest of her time with her strange friends. She has fixations on her ex, Tony and a fascination with a singer from Macclesfield who she (almost) stalks.
As I said it's a strange book which could narrate any of our lives at times when we find ourselves bereft of meaning or meaningful relationships. That said, there is some wonderful dialogue and the female friendships are the sort of things you crave for yourself.
I shall continue my wander through this intriguing writer's back catalogue.
I didn't enjoy this as much as My Phantoms but it grew on me as I read it.
Carmel lives in Manchester, does dead end jobs and spends the rest of her time with her strange friends. She has fixations on her ex, Tony and a fascination with a singer from Macclesfield who she (almost) stalks.
As I said it's a strange book which could narrate any of our lives at times when we find ourselves bereft of meaning or meaningful relationships. That said, there is some wonderful dialogue and the female friendships are the sort of things you crave for yourself.
I shall continue my wander through this intriguing writer's back catalogue.
August 1, 2017
After reading this enthralling novel by Gwendoline Riley, I have no choice but to add my voice to the literary critics and authors praising this as one of the most impressive debut novels of 2002. Where do I start to do justice to this finely wrought tale of twenty-year-old Carmel McKisco, working the night shift at a Manchester pub as a barmaid? I'm not at all sure that I can ...
Suffice it to say that each and every page is shot through with scintillating imagery, unexpected and fresh observations concerning the regular clients frequenting the bar, and of course the mysterious inner life of one of the most beguiling and heroic narrators I have ever encountered in fiction. My heart was aching for Carmel, going on her cheerful and trusting way in a magnificently rendered Manchester in the relentless grip of a bleak and rainy winter. Recovering with pluck and forbearance from a romantic entanglement with Tony -- who seems to be so insouciantly uncommitted and laid back about the whole sorry business that he is later revealed as being convinced that Carmel was the instigator of the break-up when in fact it is the other way around -- she is also in the throes of a strange yearning for an obscure pop idol from her teenage years, now washed up and existing in a drug-induced twilight world. Carmel's observations on life and love and the way in which her indomitable disposition strives to make sense of the hand dealt to her by fate, are the elements that drive this wistful and beautifully written novel. Particularly poignant is her meeting with the young Texan Lucas, who is on the verge of returning to the USA after a two-week holiday. They spend his last night in England together, and their bittersweet union is tenderly described with an underlying refrain of unfulfilled potential and a definite sense of what could have been had circumstances been different. While in the process of wiping up spilled coffee grounds at the end of her subsequent shift at the pub, Carmel allows herself one vivid flash of erotic recollection from the time spent in Lucas' company. But dwelling on this is pointless. Life goes on inexorably. Nobody knows this better than Carmel ...
Her amiable frienships and relationships with c0-workers Margi, Shelley and Irene, and with the expertly sketched clients in the pub are nuanced and detailed -- and rendered with the expertise and technical competence you'd expect from a seasoned and more mature novelist. That Riley was only twenty-two at the time of the first publication of this elegant and insightful novel is nothing short of astounding. I can't wait to acquaint myself with her subsequent works of fiction. They all sound marvelous. If they are even half as good as her debut, then I'm in for a rare treat.
Suffice it to say that each and every page is shot through with scintillating imagery, unexpected and fresh observations concerning the regular clients frequenting the bar, and of course the mysterious inner life of one of the most beguiling and heroic narrators I have ever encountered in fiction. My heart was aching for Carmel, going on her cheerful and trusting way in a magnificently rendered Manchester in the relentless grip of a bleak and rainy winter. Recovering with pluck and forbearance from a romantic entanglement with Tony -- who seems to be so insouciantly uncommitted and laid back about the whole sorry business that he is later revealed as being convinced that Carmel was the instigator of the break-up when in fact it is the other way around -- she is also in the throes of a strange yearning for an obscure pop idol from her teenage years, now washed up and existing in a drug-induced twilight world. Carmel's observations on life and love and the way in which her indomitable disposition strives to make sense of the hand dealt to her by fate, are the elements that drive this wistful and beautifully written novel. Particularly poignant is her meeting with the young Texan Lucas, who is on the verge of returning to the USA after a two-week holiday. They spend his last night in England together, and their bittersweet union is tenderly described with an underlying refrain of unfulfilled potential and a definite sense of what could have been had circumstances been different. While in the process of wiping up spilled coffee grounds at the end of her subsequent shift at the pub, Carmel allows herself one vivid flash of erotic recollection from the time spent in Lucas' company. But dwelling on this is pointless. Life goes on inexorably. Nobody knows this better than Carmel ...
Her amiable frienships and relationships with c0-workers Margi, Shelley and Irene, and with the expertly sketched clients in the pub are nuanced and detailed -- and rendered with the expertise and technical competence you'd expect from a seasoned and more mature novelist. That Riley was only twenty-two at the time of the first publication of this elegant and insightful novel is nothing short of astounding. I can't wait to acquaint myself with her subsequent works of fiction. They all sound marvelous. If they are even half as good as her debut, then I'm in for a rare treat.
August 10, 2024
A vibes heavy, low plot novella. Very bleak. Very British. Reminded me of being 20
January 13, 2018
Painful to read. Full of high school poetry style sentences. Uninteresting and bland. I actually ripped up and recycled the copy I had so no one else could possibly have the misfortune to read it. Ugh.
April 25, 2021
One of the best things I’ve read in ages. Just completely absorbing and beautifully visceral. Rattled through it an a very uncharacteristic fashion because it was just so damn compelling. And, Manchester, you still have my heart.
November 3, 2009
one of those books that I'm afraid I fall in love with the narrator (another is Morvern Callar), so even if she just describes the rain on her window I'm happy.
December 7, 2022
. 🌼"Stavo leggendo Morte a Venezia, tenuto aperto da un posacenere in vetro ancora caldo di lavastoviglie, quest'estate, quando ho visto Tony per la prima volta. Mi ha fatto un grande sorriso, prendendo un tiro dalla sigaretta tra le labbra, il viso illuminato dalla fiammella del suo accendino e le ciglia che proiettavano un'ombra scura, e io mi sono ricordata di un brano: Non devi sorridere in quel modo! Non si deve, mi senti, non si deve sorridere così a nessuno.
Lui non avrebbe dovuto"🌼 🌼Ci sono dei libri che hanno la capacità di accompagnarti per un bel pezzo di vita, tenendoti compagnia nei momenti di solitudine, o quando vuoi leggere bella prosa e bei pensieri o quando vuoi semplicemente ritornare da vecchi amici che non rivedi da un po'.
Alcuni di questi libri che hanno percorso con te buona parte della tua esistenza non ti hanno ancora lasciato, e questo mi è successo con Carmel di Gwendoline Riley. Libro regalato da mia zia perché incuriosita dalla frase in copertina, all'età di credo 14 anni, che ho poi letto e riletto per anni, scoprendoci sempre cose nuove, alcuni cantanti o libri citati dalla scrittrice e che magari mi lasciavo scivolare senza darci troppo peso, li ho poi durante gli anni scovati e assorbiti anche io e quando magari dopo mesi mi rimettevo a rileggerlo mentalmente esclamavo "Oh Tom Waits! Piace anche a me!" 🌼Il libro racconta un periodo di vita, neanche troppo burrascoso, di Carmel una ragazza di Manchester che fa la cameriera in un pub in cui ogni sera incontra diverse realtà umane. Sullo sfondo il suo amore per Tony che la lascia perché: "Non sembri la persona più felice del mondo... Comincio a trovarlo avvilente". L'amicizia è una tematica molto cara alla scrittrice, interessanti i rapporti di Carmen con Margi e Kevin, perché se la famiglia di origine è un casino meglio crearsela!
🌼 Il punto che adoro di tutto il libro è quando va a trovare a casa, il suo idolo d'infanzia, Steven, un cantante oramai sul viale del tramonto. La scena che gli si presenta agli occhi e che a noi è magnificamente descritta è agghiacciante. Un ragazzo addormentato dalla magrezza sconcertate, indumenti lisi e respiro ad intermittenza
Lui non avrebbe dovuto"🌼 🌼Ci sono dei libri che hanno la capacità di accompagnarti per un bel pezzo di vita, tenendoti compagnia nei momenti di solitudine, o quando vuoi leggere bella prosa e bei pensieri o quando vuoi semplicemente ritornare da vecchi amici che non rivedi da un po'.
Alcuni di questi libri che hanno percorso con te buona parte della tua esistenza non ti hanno ancora lasciato, e questo mi è successo con Carmel di Gwendoline Riley. Libro regalato da mia zia perché incuriosita dalla frase in copertina, all'età di credo 14 anni, che ho poi letto e riletto per anni, scoprendoci sempre cose nuove, alcuni cantanti o libri citati dalla scrittrice e che magari mi lasciavo scivolare senza darci troppo peso, li ho poi durante gli anni scovati e assorbiti anche io e quando magari dopo mesi mi rimettevo a rileggerlo mentalmente esclamavo "Oh Tom Waits! Piace anche a me!" 🌼Il libro racconta un periodo di vita, neanche troppo burrascoso, di Carmel una ragazza di Manchester che fa la cameriera in un pub in cui ogni sera incontra diverse realtà umane. Sullo sfondo il suo amore per Tony che la lascia perché: "Non sembri la persona più felice del mondo... Comincio a trovarlo avvilente". L'amicizia è una tematica molto cara alla scrittrice, interessanti i rapporti di Carmen con Margi e Kevin, perché se la famiglia di origine è un casino meglio crearsela!
🌼 Il punto che adoro di tutto il libro è quando va a trovare a casa, il suo idolo d'infanzia, Steven, un cantante oramai sul viale del tramonto. La scena che gli si presenta agli occhi e che a noi è magnificamente descritta è agghiacciante. Un ragazzo addormentato dalla magrezza sconcertate, indumenti lisi e respiro ad intermittenza
January 29, 2024
Idk exactly how to rate this, maybe around 2.7? I love books with vibes rather than plots, but some of the conversations were a bit dull. Still, I really loved Carmel. I just wish some things were a bit more exciting.
August 29, 2024
La storia di Carmel è raccontata con uno stile davvero piatto, poche emozioni molti sbadigli. Non so se mi sono persa io qualcosa o se l'autrice aveva poco da dire.
April 19, 2016
I am not reallyu sure why I lvoed this book so much and other such trivial, meandering books leave me cold. Perhaps it was the poetically sensitive quality of the descriptions, the bleak minimalism of the emotional terrain of the book (with a hint of real human hearts beating under the over-tired monotony of real life and boozy, smoke-filled encounters). There was something recongnisable in the grittiness and contemporary, urban setting just as the tone of the book made it sound like writing about a bygone era. It romanticised the mundane and then scraped off the romantic patina to find it romantic again.
There is no big epiphany or resolution in this book (I hope that is not a spoiler) there are rays of light, points of possibility. Big changes might be possible, continuities might exist (though can be empty too). The reality is living and working and forming friendships in a far from perfect world. The poverty in the book (material and spiritual) is not abject, tragic poverty, it is the poverty of canvas shoes that let in water, of spending your dole on cheap alcohol because your pay is too low.
We can read these people as "young" and as not having yet found themselves. I think the banality they discover in life and the way they use culture as escapism and a place of meeting rings true to middle-aged me also. There is sex in the book (largely off-stage which detail i appreciate). It is as pointless as drinking cheap alcopop or listening to trite tunes.
But that's life.
There is no big epiphany or resolution in this book (I hope that is not a spoiler) there are rays of light, points of possibility. Big changes might be possible, continuities might exist (though can be empty too). The reality is living and working and forming friendships in a far from perfect world. The poverty in the book (material and spiritual) is not abject, tragic poverty, it is the poverty of canvas shoes that let in water, of spending your dole on cheap alcohol because your pay is too low.
We can read these people as "young" and as not having yet found themselves. I think the banality they discover in life and the way they use culture as escapism and a place of meeting rings true to middle-aged me also. There is sex in the book (largely off-stage which detail i appreciate). It is as pointless as drinking cheap alcopop or listening to trite tunes.
But that's life.
September 16, 2025
This book wasn't bad.... it's just made me feel absolutely miserable.
I usually enjoy plotless, melancholy novels; however, this just sucked the life out of me. I feel like what I feel like when I'm depressed on the evening of a long hangover....
Carmel is a pensive but reckless 20 year old living and working in Manchester as a barmaid.
There's a lot of it I can relate to from an earlier part of my life, and maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I read it when I was 20. But it all just felt a bit juvenile now and I have moved on from the behaviours and ways of thinking perpetuated in this story. Some of Carmel's lines really made me cringe actually. Certain scenarios were uncannily alike to my experiences, especially Carmel's workplace and the regular, oddball customers she befriends. Urban barflies are the same wherever you go...
I usually enjoy plotless, melancholy novels; however, this just sucked the life out of me. I feel like what I feel like when I'm depressed on the evening of a long hangover....
Carmel is a pensive but reckless 20 year old living and working in Manchester as a barmaid.
There's a lot of it I can relate to from an earlier part of my life, and maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I read it when I was 20. But it all just felt a bit juvenile now and I have moved on from the behaviours and ways of thinking perpetuated in this story. Some of Carmel's lines really made me cringe actually. Certain scenarios were uncannily alike to my experiences, especially Carmel's workplace and the regular, oddball customers she befriends. Urban barflies are the same wherever you go...
July 23, 2016
I read this very short book in a few hours. It's very economically told, and parts of it are poetic. Carmel is an interesting and intelligent narrator and the whole thing has a cold and desolate atmosphere from page 1.
To be critical, there's not enough of it! I like books with minimal plots, but this is more like reading a snapshot of someone's life than a novel: the ending is completely unsatisfying as it doesn't really go anywhere, and the narrator doesn't change at all. The writing is strong so I might forgive this if it wasn't coupled with a very bizarre moment that doesn't really make sense and is never properly explained.
A good read, but needs to go much further.
To be critical, there's not enough of it! I like books with minimal plots, but this is more like reading a snapshot of someone's life than a novel: the ending is completely unsatisfying as it doesn't really go anywhere, and the narrator doesn't change at all. The writing is strong so I might forgive this if it wasn't coupled with a very bizarre moment that doesn't really make sense and is never properly explained.
A good read, but needs to go much further.
June 23, 2023
Not going to repeat what everyone else has articulated better than me.
Writing style: 2.5* receives an extra star for being short. Almost elegant prose that fails as it tries too hard on being cynical. Some interesting and not so interesting cultural and literary references. Failed to grasp my interest. Easily forgettable.
Plot: 1.5* a reflection of those who don't know what to do with their lives and almost apathic to it all. Frightened to live with any plan of action. Aversion to ambition.
Characters: 1.5* there were far too many characters for this small and rather dull book to recount. A few that spring to mind:
Carmel: the idiosyncratic protagonist, not likeable. Interesting enough with her observations but some of them were very obscure and irrelevant, but I guess in her eyes seemed sophisticated. The only thing I liked about her was her love of books.
She stifles ambition and not in an interesting way. And avoids those who may bring up questions on "what will you do with your life" and thus surrounds herself with others like her (people snoozing through life). When these "others" question their life choices, e.g. Katja, she drops them.
Margi: works at the same bar as Carmel, confidant and friend. She likes to dance weird and seems to wear the same clothes every day. Was a notorious adolescent who liked older men.
Mackie: a cyclist and Carmel's one time (or casual) lover. Has a daughter, but doesn't seem to ever see her. Dull character.
Tony: Carmel's ex. Charming, pretends to never read books. Good-looking but seems tedious.
Katje: a whimsical drifter from Prague. Can't stay in a job longer than 6 months. Finally cracks and wants something more than "living in a box", which annoys Carmel, who otherwise found her charming.
Writing style: 2.5* receives an extra star for being short. Almost elegant prose that fails as it tries too hard on being cynical. Some interesting and not so interesting cultural and literary references. Failed to grasp my interest. Easily forgettable.
Plot: 1.5* a reflection of those who don't know what to do with their lives and almost apathic to it all. Frightened to live with any plan of action. Aversion to ambition.
Characters: 1.5* there were far too many characters for this small and rather dull book to recount. A few that spring to mind:
Carmel: the idiosyncratic protagonist, not likeable. Interesting enough with her observations but some of them were very obscure and irrelevant, but I guess in her eyes seemed sophisticated. The only thing I liked about her was her love of books.
She stifles ambition and not in an interesting way. And avoids those who may bring up questions on "what will you do with your life" and thus surrounds herself with others like her (people snoozing through life). When these "others" question their life choices, e.g. Katja, she drops them.
Margi: works at the same bar as Carmel, confidant and friend. She likes to dance weird and seems to wear the same clothes every day. Was a notorious adolescent who liked older men.
Mackie: a cyclist and Carmel's one time (or casual) lover. Has a daughter, but doesn't seem to ever see her. Dull character.
Tony: Carmel's ex. Charming, pretends to never read books. Good-looking but seems tedious.
Katje: a whimsical drifter from Prague. Can't stay in a job longer than 6 months. Finally cracks and wants something more than "living in a box", which annoys Carmel, who otherwise found her charming.
January 22, 2023
Things I noticed and liked, off the top of my head:
Almost painful detachment from the people Carmel loves, or could potentially love. This juxtaposed with Carmel spending time with the people around her, not necessarily because she likes them, because she has no other choice. Dutifully noticing the beautiful things about them, maybe for the same reason.
Great depiction of being trapped in a city and romanticizing everything around you but also idolizing literally any other location. I’ve never been to Cornwall, but it can’t be /that/ amazing. If you’re lost in your 20s, this book will feel either like a good friend or a panic attack.
On the subject, realizing that Irene is 25 and in the same place in her life as Carmel really hit that 20-something panic. On one hand, Carmel is literally 20 and it makes sense how alone and stuck and hopeless she feels - everyone feels that way when they’re young and she has plenty of time to figure it out. On the other hand, Irene is 25 - halfway through her 20s, halfway between Carmel and 30 - and she doesn’t have a clue either. 20 and 25 are enormously different ages, and yet only 5 years apart. At what age do you get to before you surrender your life to being mundane, lonely, a string of drunk nights out? Idk why I’m obsessing about this detail so much but I think it really illustrated the emotional timeline of your 20s really well.
The book is really just a collection of the people Carmel briefly know, cinematic descriptions of living in a city, and different depictions of feeling lost in your twenties. And maybe that’s the point! Maybe that’s all Carmel is. I know at this age, that was also my entire personality. I might recommend this to a certain young, artsy type who wants to waste a little time reading nonessentials, but I wouldn’t buy it for myself or read it again.
Almost painful detachment from the people Carmel loves, or could potentially love. This juxtaposed with Carmel spending time with the people around her, not necessarily because she likes them, because she has no other choice. Dutifully noticing the beautiful things about them, maybe for the same reason.
Great depiction of being trapped in a city and romanticizing everything around you but also idolizing literally any other location. I’ve never been to Cornwall, but it can’t be /that/ amazing. If you’re lost in your 20s, this book will feel either like a good friend or a panic attack.
On the subject, realizing that Irene is 25 and in the same place in her life as Carmel really hit that 20-something panic. On one hand, Carmel is literally 20 and it makes sense how alone and stuck and hopeless she feels - everyone feels that way when they’re young and she has plenty of time to figure it out. On the other hand, Irene is 25 - halfway through her 20s, halfway between Carmel and 30 - and she doesn’t have a clue either. 20 and 25 are enormously different ages, and yet only 5 years apart. At what age do you get to before you surrender your life to being mundane, lonely, a string of drunk nights out? Idk why I’m obsessing about this detail so much but I think it really illustrated the emotional timeline of your 20s really well.
The book is really just a collection of the people Carmel briefly know, cinematic descriptions of living in a city, and different depictions of feeling lost in your twenties. And maybe that’s the point! Maybe that’s all Carmel is. I know at this age, that was also my entire personality. I might recommend this to a certain young, artsy type who wants to waste a little time reading nonessentials, but I wouldn’t buy it for myself or read it again.
June 15, 2020
Absolutely outstanding short novel by Gwendoline Riley - it has shot right in near the top of my favourite books ever.
The narrative follows Carmel McKisco, a student aged girl living and working nights in a Manchester bar. It is just about the most relatable book I've ever read - of course, I'm very familiar with many of the places that Riley speaks of since I've grown up entertaining the Manchester scene myself. The characters are vivid, real, flawed. There is a tragi-comic aspect to Carmel's encounters and existence, and Riley is a deft-hand at creating a poignant sense of place. You can smell the bars, feel the depravity in Macclesfield, sense the abandon in these student hovels. 'Cold Water' is steamingly atmospheric, cutely melancholic, and - not to overuse the word - staggeringly REAL.
I first read this novel years ago on a degree course. I'm glad I came back to it years later - it has taught be a lot about the power of sparse, direct writing. I cannot recommend this book any higher. It's a one-sitting tour-de-force!
The narrative follows Carmel McKisco, a student aged girl living and working nights in a Manchester bar. It is just about the most relatable book I've ever read - of course, I'm very familiar with many of the places that Riley speaks of since I've grown up entertaining the Manchester scene myself. The characters are vivid, real, flawed. There is a tragi-comic aspect to Carmel's encounters and existence, and Riley is a deft-hand at creating a poignant sense of place. You can smell the bars, feel the depravity in Macclesfield, sense the abandon in these student hovels. 'Cold Water' is steamingly atmospheric, cutely melancholic, and - not to overuse the word - staggeringly REAL.
I first read this novel years ago on a degree course. I'm glad I came back to it years later - it has taught be a lot about the power of sparse, direct writing. I cannot recommend this book any higher. It's a one-sitting tour-de-force!
July 16, 2023
I loved Gwendoline Riley's 'My phantoms' and want to read everything she's ever written. This is her debut novel, and while it's nowhere near as perfect as 'My Phantoms', it's quite an interesting read and held my attention. Also, it's tightly-edited so just when you feel it's starting to flag, Riley starts to wind up the narrative. One of my favourite podcasts is one done by the BBC on the rave subculture in the industrial North of the UK, and this book gelt like a narrative that could fit right in- a story about a former adolescent raver who can't quite figure out what to do with the rest of life, after the excitement has died down. Carmel works at dead-end jobs in Manchester, the majority of her time as a bartender at a rather run-down bar. The book's a series of vignettes describing her life and the people she meets and the attempts she makes at trying to leave. I particularly liked her attempts at trying to track down a singer she was a fan of in the 90s-haunting and brings to you forcefully just how precarious a life in the arts can be. Definitely recommended reading.
October 22, 2019
This short novel is beautifully and evocatively written. Carmel McKisco is a twenty year old barmaid. She’s into literary fiction, cryptic crosswords and music bands on the fringe. Dumped by boyfriend, Tony, the novel follows her through the rain-soaked winter months as she waits for something to happen. Nothing much does happen but Carmel has a response to that: “...the point is, I’m not in the big picture. I’m in Manchester, and I can’t earn enough to leave just yet. For now these are my parameters: the spikes of the bus routes out to the A roads; those sparse stretches lined with derelict pubs and retail parks...’ As a former Manchester university student, I’m familiar with the places Carmel talks about, so perhaps the novel had an extra layer of resonance for me, but even without that, this is a fine piece of writing. I shall be reading more from Riley that’s for sure!
December 11, 2025
Has a sad, cold air to it that I am partial to, but also feels a bit like reading an old diary — easy to get lost in the nostalgia of, but not a lot new to learn or gain from. Maybe I would have liked this more when I was younger. It’s quite good at reflecting the sensations of being drunk and lost in your early 20s: the overconfidence in all the wrong things, the way things feel more definitive than they really are, high and going through the motions. Unfortunately, it just comes off as a bit immature. Curious to read something written by her later on, as I do like her voice and the realism of the dialogue.
August 19, 2023
Decided to join the Gwendoline Riley fan club after reading My Phantoms. Reading this, her first novel written some 20 years ago, was my first act.
Really interesting to read a phenomenally accomplished novel like My Phantoms and then go back to what the author was first writing so young. Where Phantoms is an acutely observant novel with the narrator withheld from the reader, this is much more of an interior portrait. I loved how well Riley captures the feeling of being in your early 20s, and the sense of place she creates — Manchester in the early 2000s is frozen in time on the pages.
Really interesting to read a phenomenally accomplished novel like My Phantoms and then go back to what the author was first writing so young. Where Phantoms is an acutely observant novel with the narrator withheld from the reader, this is much more of an interior portrait. I loved how well Riley captures the feeling of being in your early 20s, and the sense of place she creates — Manchester in the early 2000s is frozen in time on the pages.
December 31, 2021
I liked the style, rich and poetic, immediately although the story didn’t really show development, sticking to descriptions of clients of the bar, colleagues and ex lovers of Carmen, with several flashes of deep insight now and then. But the last two pages blew me away and set the entire novel in a new light and makes me want to reread it. A novel to taste carefully, at a slow pace.
January 19, 2018
I have a crush.
I can't help it.
Beautifully melancholy.
3.84
I can't help it.
Beautifully melancholy.
3.84
June 1, 2018
Love Gwendoline Riley. Such a great writer. First Love is extraordinary. Cold Water is sharp and funny.
August 9, 2019
I really enjoy Riley's writing style, but really didn't find this novel gripping enough. Would be interested in reading her more recent work though, and as a first novel it's a strong starting point.
December 19, 2020
Forlorn and heartbreaking, but humorous at times also.
September 12, 2021
Very adept but I just have zero use for plotless books like this in which nothing ever builds or leads to anything significant.
October 10, 2021
Far too much of this reminds me of my own lost days in my early 20s.
October 12, 2021
Very evocative very Manc.
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