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Chosen for June by Lisa Glass of the Bookfoxes
“What d’yeh do when yer ma’s gone, like?” Denny asks on page 6 of Ghosts and Lightning and in the rest of the book Denny strives to answer this question. Ghosts and Lightning charts Denny’s re-emergence in his home town of Dublin after his mother’s death, where he is reunited with his alky sister, his two unstable brothers and the motley crew of his old pals. As narrators go, Denny is of the wise-drop-out-in-humdrum-surroundings ilk. Trevor Byrne has the admirable gift of being able to magic a solid character into existence with a few short sentences. The novel is unconventional in that it feels more like a slice of a ‘real life’ than a story built on the sort of very controlled plot beloved by Robert McKee devotees. Denny narrates the entire book in Dublin dialect peppered with profanities (and let’s be clear: Denny doesn’t just swear, he swears beautifully) but this strong Dublin lingo is surprisingly easy to follow, and enables the reader to hear Denny’s voice as clearly as if he was present in the reader’s room. Ghosts and Lightning is a fascinating portrait of a young man dealing with a tragic death that came far too soon, and the book is funny, poetic and wince-inducing by turns. Still, if you’re offended by strong language, or even strong dialect, you’d best give this one a wide berth. However, if colourful characters, sharp dialogue and realistic story lines appeal, you might just find Ghosts and Lightning to be one of your favourite books of the year.
You can read the full review here: http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2009/07/12/ghosts-and-lightning-by-trevor-byrne/.
along with an exclusive interview with the author here: http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/interview-with-trevor-byrne-author-of-ghosts-and-lightning/
You can also find out more about Lisa Glass, the reviewer of this title, by visiting her website http://www.lisaglass.co.uk
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Price: £7.99 £6.99
