Considering it's very dark content, there was a delightful thread of humour running through the entire story, mostly due to the fact that despite going through such horrific things in his life, the narrator is most definitely still just a teen-aged boy with a teenager's perspective on life. The book touches on some very controversial subjects surrounding Irish life at the time, such as the abuse of children in Catholic care and pregnancy/ abortion in Ireland yet the vein of optimism and appropriate humour that is apparent in the story does not make in an unconfortable read. My only criticism would be that the ending does not seem to blend with the rest of the novel .

A splendid debut novel from Kevin Maher, the unlikely and skilfully drawn hero of which is teenage Dubliner, Jim Finnegan. Full of energy and laughter and brilliant descriptive writing, this novel also has its darker edges, and offers a vivid portrait of working clas life in 1980s Ireland. Pathos, great comic set pieces and real emotional power are all features of this outstanding first novel but the humour that is so evident throughout is one of its most memorable features. Laugh-out-loud funny even when describing the most horrific of events it is told in a truly original voice, and I look forward to reading much more of Kevin Maher's work in the future. Please give this one a try. You won't regret it.

This book is terribly difficult to categorise. It leaps between something hilarious and wickedly observant, and something unsettlingly dark, and I’m not sure how the balance really worked for me. I recently likened it to a journey that starts with a jolly skip down the stairs, with an unfortunate misstep at the bottom; and although the book returns in snatches to lightness and humour, that butterfly-stomach, post-dread feeling never really left me. It was a comedy gig at a funeral; an inappropriate lightness, in my personal opinion, given to many of this novel’s themes. Readers ought to be warned that this book deals in part with the ongoing actions of a darkly perverted paedophilic Catholic priest. That’s not a plot spoiler, but to simply warn you that aspects are ‘shocking’ seems to dangerously understate it. In balance, anyone who grew up in the 80’s, or in a large family, or in Ireland, will find huge tracts of this novel an absolute delight. Jim Finnegan, the central character, sparks off the page. I can understand why Maher has been marked out as one to watch, and I am, all the same, curious to know what he’ll write next!

This book is terribly difficult to categorise. It leaps between something hilarious and wickedly observant, and something unsettlingly dark, and I’m not sure how the balance really worked for me. I recently likened it to a journey that starts with a jolly skip down the stairs, with an unfortunate misstep at the bottom; and although the book returns in snatches to lightness and humour, that butterfly-stomach, post-dread feeling never really left me. It was a comedy gig at a funeral; an inappropriate lightness, in my personal opinion, given to many of this novel’s themes. Readers ought to be warned that this book deals in part with the ongoing actions of a darkly perverted paedophilic Catholic priest. That’s not a plot spoiler, but to simply warn you that aspects are ‘shocking’ seems to dangerously understate it. In balance, anyone who grew up in the 80’s, or in a large family, or in Ireland, will find huge tracts of this novel an absolute delight. Jim Finnegan, the central character, sparks off the page. I can understand why Maher has been marked out as one to watch, and I am, all the same, curious to know what he’ll write next!

After the first 6 or 7 chapters I thought this book was a fair bit dull in that it was reading like any other book you may come across about growing up in Ireland in the 80's... but yet I kept reading! I loved how funny and lively the voice of narrator Jim was, yet issues which Jim and his family and friends are faced with are handled in a mature manner (for a teenager!). Full of brilliant descriptive writing with characters that are extremely likable, Kevin Maher is one to watch, no wonder he is on The Waterstones 11 list. I extremely enjoyed the ending of the book where it takes an unexpected twist which was utterly thought-provoking for me! Overall, I shall be watching out for Maher in the future!