Irish Literature – published 2012
Barry’s fictional Bohane, was a formerly great city on the west coast of Ireland that over the course of 40 years to has fallen into utter decay. It provides the setting for a hodgepodge of ethnicities, loyalties and double-crossings, rival gangs , vice and battles that may seem to be is history, though the story is actually set in the near future. Different barrios, from the brothels, fetish parlours and shooting galleries in Smoketown, to the lawless chaos of the Back Trace.
The kingpin is Logan Hartnett, a gaunt, pale lecher nicknamed ‘The Albino.’ Hartnett is harassed by his scolding wife Immaculata and a trio of young bodyguards; the ambitious Wolfie Stanners, the ebullient Fucker Burke and the keen and sharp Jenni Ching.
Things come to a head when one Hartnett’s men is ‘reefed’ in Smoketown; rumour has it that his mortal enemy, ‘the Gant Broderick’ is back in town.
Though the vernacular takes some getting used to, it is addictive and makes the novel what it is, thoroughly entertaining and a complete treat; it’s almost poetic at times and a marvel of language.
My GoodReads score 5 / 5
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