Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #166848 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-06
• Binding: Paperback
• 233 pages

Ronan Bennett, Irish Times
A bleakly lyrical, vivid and horribly enthralling dreamscape … the writing is, at its best, spellbinding.

Victoria Glendinning, Daily Telegraph
An extraordinary book.

John Banville, Observer
A remarkable achievement, horrifying, funny, elemental and true.

Customer Reviews

A MASTERPIECE IN VISCERAL STORYTELLING
This is one of the most impressive works of fiction ever written about the troubles. The style of writing gives you the ability to smell the backstreets of Belfast.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Ignore the film.

MINOR PROBLEM DOES NOT DESTROY BOOK.
I find it hard to believe that there is only one review of this book on this site.

The previous reviewer got it right by saying the characters were very believable, but neglected to mention the atmosphere it creates with the names of streeet etc.

The film did not stand a chance against this, almost, masterpiece.

The big let down was the lack of the victim's point of view, treating them as cannon fodder. The film had the same problem, but McNamee would have been given the chance to fix it.

Maybe that was the point, that victims in a war are faceless, but it did not detract from the fact that this is a brilliant book.

brilliant.
a disturbing and powerful tale of brutal sectarian violence in belfast. this is a wonderful book. the writing is spare and evokes a haunting picture of a society gripped by fear and caught up in a spiral of violence that is perpetrated it seems almost for its own sake.mcnamee is a great writer. can't wait to read his next one.