Based around the character of Jason, a young intelligent child, the novel highlights his desire to escape a dysfunctional family. If you're looking for a story with a difference, this is the one for you. Quirky from the outset, Ithaca is both philosophical in message and vibrant in narrative voice.

The first novel by Alan McMonagle, who has published two collections of short stories before this, is a debut that promises great things from this author. Combining humour with rather serious topics such as loneliness and longing for company can be a risky thing to do, but McMonagle pulls it off in admirable fashion and creates a lead character that is easy to sympathize with. Jason Lowry is an eleven year old boy who basically has nobody to talk to in town. He has no real friends, and his interactions with peers often end in fights, where he is usually on the receiving end. He lives alone with his mother, who drinks the days away and has a new boyfriend every week, the only consistent thing being that this boyfriend is usually married and not interested in anything lasting. Jason has no idea who his father is, and is determined to find out. During his search he encounters a girl with a wild imagination, who dreams of escaping to places such as Egypt and, more specifically, Ithaca, the home of Odysseus. She herself has issues at home, with a father grieving for the loss of his beloved wife.  With this girl, who remains unnamed throughout the novel, Jason finds himself on strange adventures, where he paints graffiti with disturbing messages on houses in the neighbourhood and hangs out with her around the Swamp at the outskirts of town. The girl seems self-destructive, tries to seduce him to touch her at intimate spots, and threatens to hurt herself if Jason doesn't do something she wants. It becomes very clear that this relationship is not necessarily a healthy one.  Meanwhile, Jason's mother suddenly disappears, supposedly to Paris with one of her many lovers. Jason also starts dreaming of a life in Paris. It is at this point that things in his life start to unravel, and definitely not for the best. McMonagle has written a very interesting novel here where he explores the ability of children to lose themselves completely in fantasies and dreams. More often than not this ability is used while playing with toys, but children can also use it to escape their daily lives. Not often have I read a novel where this particular use of this ability has been described so vividly, without it actually being a description. We join Jason while he is living these fantasies, and we get to experience them with him. We also get to experience the feeling that perhaps he is taking his escapism too far. We start wondering where the line is between fantasy and reality. How much of what Jason is experiencing is actually happening? McMonagle writes in beautiful prose, and his style is original and the dialogues between Jason and the girl are pretty sharp and oftentimes funny. This is an excellent debut novel, and I for one am curious to see what this exciting new author will publish next.