Paveewhack: A Novel

by Peter Brady

Paveewhack is the story of teenage Traveller Jack Joyce-or Whack as he's known (""pavee"" means traveler)-who must adapt to the settled life after his father moves the family into a house in a small Midlands town. A kind of Irish Huck Finn, a ""notorious knat,"" or gallant rogue, Whack is more interested in working, hunting, and courting than school. But when he gets involved with the local police and two settled girls, life suddenly becomes more complicated than he could have ever imagined, and before long, Whack is on the run. County Offaly author Peter Brady's accomplished first novel is a first in many respects. It's an acute and canny look at a unique Irish culture, and the first novel ever to be written in Traveller's Cant, capturing the wit and color of their spoken language. Combining the blunt black humor of a Patrick McCabe with the stripped-down realism of an Irvine Welsh, Brady delivers a moving story of adventure and young love set in early '60s Ireland, against a backdrop of exclusion and deadly consequence. It also includes a glossary of Cant and colloquial English words

212 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002