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Tony
Mar 16, 2019 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
A good 95% of Irish fiction I've read is set in either Dublin or Belfast, so it was a nice change of pace to visit the small southern coastal city of Cork. Here we find the intertwined tales of gangster Jimmy Phelan, his alcoholic childhood friend turned family man, Tony, Tony's teenage drug-dealing son Ryan, Ryan's girlfriend, their harridan neighbor, and a teenage prostitute called Georgie, whose useless boyfriend/pimp is accidentally killed by Phelan's mother.

It's a crackling debut that doesn
...more
Susan
Sep 27, 2016 rated it liked it
Altho many reviewers described this book as "darkly humorous" or "bitingly funny" I didn't find it that at all. It is a dark look at the underbelly of a city in Ireland, a bleak existence for these characters, somewhat depressing as to what people will do to survive. The Irish slang throughout made some parts difficult to grasp. It kept me reading on tho, and the author connected all the characters to each other in a clever way. ...more
Anna
Jan 09, 2016 rated it liked it
Beverly
Mar 08, 2016 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Rachel
Nov 02, 2016 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Sam
Jun 12, 2016 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Tammy AZ
Aug 29, 2016 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Seulky
Dec 25, 2016 marked it as to-read
Barondestructo
Sep 10, 2017 rated it really liked it
Keeley
Oct 19, 2017 marked it as to-read
Kat
Oct 20, 2017 marked it as to-read
Shelves: kindle-book
Tok
Jul 08, 2018 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: book-i-own
Denise
Apr 20, 2020 marked it as kindle-tbr
Bill
Apr 17, 2021 marked it as to-read
Curlysue
Jan 01, 2023 marked it as to-read
Mihika
Oct 12, 2024 marked it as to-read
Idit
Feb 11, 2025 added it
Shelves: ireland
kaylanurul
May 24, 2025 marked it as to-read