From Publishers Weekly
From 1970s Belfast during the Protestant and Catholic "Troubles" to the calmer but still tense present, MacLaverty (Grace Notes, shortlisted for the Booker) exploits the subtle nuances of Irish life in these 11 stories. Violence is never far off for his characters, and though they may try to distance themselves from conflict (spatially as well as emotionally), it inevitably finds them. In "On the Roundabout," the short stream-of-consciousness piece that begins the collection, a family outing "like something outa Norman Rockwell" turns into a blood-soaked frenzy of unprovoked violence. In "A Trusted Neighbor," MacLaverty expertly mines the tension between ordinary folk caught in a conflict that only seems far away from their suburban enclave. Terror and comedy coexist in "The Trojan Sofa" when an 11-year-old burglar, caught by his intended victim and held at gunpoint, asks if he can use the bathroom. "The Clinic," a less lively story, features a curmudgeon who turns to Chekhov as his health fails. At his best, MacLaverty recalls Graham Greene, and his control over arc and character packs a wallop. (Sept.)
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist
Gumption stands behind an author who opens a short story collection with an extremely brief story, risking losing the reader's interest even before the book has really gotten under way. But MacLaverty's 4-page "On the Roundabout" proves to be a safe opener; it is completely enveloping in its brevity and face slapping in its honest depiction of human cruelty, despite its gruesome subject matter (nasty political business taken to a life-and-death degree) and detail. "Up the Coast," also about violence and violation and, in this case, the psychological aftereffects, is at the other extreme in terms of length. At 50 pages, it could be called a novella. But it is no less punchy than the collection's first--and very short--story. In all these stories, MacLaverty, with an elegantly simple style, enters the consciousness of a variety of characters engaged in a broad range of activities--from a young female artist to an angry young man dysfunctional in his socializing practices--to understand their personal lifestyles and sensibilities. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
