The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe - Artist Edition

The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe - Artist Edition

Regular price $125.00 USD
Regular price Sale price $125.00 USD

A powerful and unrelenting journey into a young boy’s heart of darkness, The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe is startlingly original and impossible to put out of your mind.

Set in a small town in Ireland in the early 1960s, The Butcher Boy is the story of Frances “Francie” Brady, also known as “pig boy,” the only child of an alcoholic father and a mother driven mad by despair. As his troubled home life collapses, Francie retreats into a violent fantasy world. Held up for scorn and ridicule by the sanctimonious neighbor Mrs. Nugent, and dropped by his best friend Joe in favor of Mrs. Nugent’s son, Francie finally finds a target for his rage, and a focus for his twisted, horrific plan. Dark, haunting, and often screamingly funny, The Butcher Boy chronicles the pig boy’s ominous loss of innocence and chilling descent into madness.

Written in a hybrid of first-person narrative and stream of consciousness, critics marveled at Patrick McCabe’s unique use of rhythm and language upon the novel’s publication in 1992. Critic Tim Guathier claimed McCabe’s style of writing forces the reader to “constantly reassess Francie Brady’s psychological stability,” making the novel all the more terrifying. The New York Times hailed The Butcher Boy as “stunning… part Huck Finn, part Holden Caulfield, part Hannibal Lecter.”

The Butcher Boy won the 1992 Irish Times Irish Literature Prize for Fiction, and was shortlisted for the 1992 Booker Prize. In 1997, it was adapted by the author and Neil Jordan into an award-winning film.


The signed limited edition of The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe is presented in three states: Lettered, Numbered and Artist editions. 

Please note that Artist editions are not numbered.

ARTIST EDITION

  • 6” x 9” trim size.
  • 248 Pages.
  • Limited to 1000 copies.
  • Full cloth, smyth-sewn binding.
  • Two-hits foil stamping.
  • New exclusive introduction by Patrick McCabe.
  • Six full color illustrations by David Lupton.
  • Dust jacket featuring wraparound artwork by David Lupton (the only edition featuring the dust jacket).
  • Illustrated endsheets by David Lupton.
  • Signed by the artist.
  • Printed offset on premium Mohawk Via.
  • Housed in an embossed paper covered slipcase.
  • Bookmark with all pre-orders.

Published editions may differ slightly from mockups and prototype designs.
Illustrations © 2021 by David Lupton.

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Customer Reviews

Based on 11 reviews
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D
Dries
A real discovery

I discovered this novel via Suntup, and it is now one of my favourite stories. The artwork is beautiful and very fitting and makes this one of my favourite books on my shelf.

D
David Malchasku

The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe - Artist Edition

S
Steve
The Best One Yet

Still my favourite book,Patrick McCabe captures Francies mental issues steaming from his home life perfectly, sucidal mother & abuse at the hands of a alcoholic father, trouble & jealous of the neighbors, which results in the twist of exploring his childhood & making you feel for the character that much darker 10/10

a
angelo giacalone
Subtlety Twisted and Unsettling.

While perhaps not a book for everyone I was fascinated yet unsettled by it. Is he sane, or just plain crazy? Hard to know at times. Written in an almost post modern style that grew on me. To say this book is NOT your usual horror novel is to put it lightly. I think it is a very worthwhile read.

M
Matthew Anderson
A Pleasure to Hold and Read

The Artist Edition of The Butcher Boy is another excellent release from Suntup. The quality of craftsmanship and the level of thought and creativity that went into it is apparent immediately upon removing the book from its packaging. The book feels great in the hands in or out of the dust jacket. The artwork is perfect for the novel. The Pig Family has never been treated so well.