Jay adores his small daughter, Bonnie, and nothing matters more to him than being a good father. But Bonnie's traumatic birth puts an unbearable strain on his marriage with Shauna and the couple eventually separate. Struggling to cope with the separation from three-year-old Bonnie, Jay thinks constantly of his own mother who he hasn't seen since he fled Ireland a decade before.
Resolved to move forward, Jay finds himself a flat-share with two eccentric Kenyan businessmen, snags a role working on a documentary about the Millennium Dome (through 'Dublin Darren', an old laboring contact), and is utterly rigid in his commitment to Bonnie time.
Indeed, things might have even begun to look up were it not for the arrival of an old 'friend' from home. 'The Clappers' is six foot tall, four foot wide, built like several Guinness barrels strapped together, and is all, all woman. She means well, and she means to make everything right for Jay. But inevitably, she makes it wrong.
A helter-skelter dash to Ireland results in some brutal revelations on behalf of Jay's mother, and an inevitable return to London culminates in a midnight epiphany in the shadow of Tony Blair, The Queen, and Auld Lang Syne. Can Jay be a good father to Bonnie? Or is it too late?
Kevin Maher is an Irish writer. He is primarily known as a journalist and film critic, whose work has appeared in The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, and The Observer. His debut novel, The Fields, was published by Reagan Arthur Books in 2013.
Review: Wow. This story just grabs you from the very first page and sucks you into the unusual telling of extraordinary events. Kevin Maher has a fantastic way of giving his characters their own, unique voice in a way that you'll very clearly hear them in your head as you read. Jay and Shauna have a tragic tale to tell and despite their awful circumstances, I was rooting for them every step of the way. This book was not only unique, it was very exciting to read and I got through it really quickly because I just couldn't put it down! If you want something to read that stands out from the crowd, then this is for you!
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