Kevin Maher

I'm glad I didn't see any reviews of this book before reading it as I agree with many of those who found it to be patchy and tedious in sections.

Jim Finnegan is a thirteen year old boy growing up in Dublin in the 1980s, the youngest child with four older sisters. The initial story tells of his exploits with his school friends and his boisterous family mealtimes and how the Mams all get together for coffee and gossip each morning and try to outdo each other with terrible stories about their neighbours. Jim is a typical teenager, rampaging around town on his bike with his best friend Gary and experimenting with drinking and girls with his darker troubled friend Mozzo. This part of the book about childhood innocence and the attraction of rebellious friends is humorous and warm and this is where the writer seems most at ease.

The tone of the book begins to change when Jim is invited by an older girl to his first party without his family. It's here at the party that Jim comes to the attention of the local priest who subsequently plays a big part in making his life wretched. Jim's life goes from been carefree and full of mad exploits to a more sombre, serious one where he must deal with some very adult issues. Even so there are some lighter moments in this part of the book as Jim explores the joys of being a teenager in love and devises a way to deal with the priest.

In the third section of the book Jim, now aged 15, and his older girlfriend Saidhbh, 19 are in London and it's here that the novel seems to loose the plot and become less believable and didn't ring true for me. Jim and Saidhbh are living with Jim's Aunty Grace but I found it difficult to accept that these two teenagers would be left to deal with their serious issues on their own without some family intervention. Instead of going back to Ireland and school Jim gets a job and becomes interested in Astral healing. I found Jim's character as a confident, carefree Irish boy came through quite strongly at the start of the book and even through the middle where he struggles to cope with difficult issues but here we seem to lose his force of personality and he seems suddenly passive and mature beyond his years.

Although I enjoyed the first two thirds of the book (and would have given at least 4 stars at that stage) I really disliked the last third (and not just for the subject matter) and really did not like the ending at all - it was just so unbelievable and unnecessary.… (plus d'informations)