Ah, you’ve got to read this one. It’s beautiful and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. The protagonist Cyril Avery, adopted out by his sixteen year old mother to strikingly insensitive parents, has a hard time of it, being gay in Ireland during the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s. None of his inner circle know of his sexuality until he chooses to confide in his best friend on his wedding day. And doesn’t that turn out well. Cyril is good hearted and kind but seems incapable of comprehending the pain he causes others. At times you feel like wringing his neck but at the same time you want to see things finally turn out well for him. So read it and see. It’s worth the cover price for some of the dialogue, particularly in the hospital on Christmas Day. Humanity, compassion, humour, the cruelty and hypocrisy of the Catholic Church, violent homophobia and the joy of family: it’s all there. And so is Mrs Goggin, a literary creation of absolute genius. Read it and weep.
