Reviews

A Bloody Good Friday by Desmond Barry

rosseroo's review

4.0

The short, fast, and exceedingly cinematic story of an exceptionally violent Friday in a Welsh town in 1977. This story of brawlers, druggies, gypsies, and rampaging skinheads is not fine writing, but it is compelling storytelling. The narrator is Davey, a crippled druggie type who is sort of mates with two of the town's more infamous hard men. The book is his attempt to set the record straight about the hectic and convoluted chain of events on the "legendary" day one of them returns from prison. Barry, whose first book was a historically based Western, paces things very nicely as he shows how disparate events, decisions, history, and personalities cause ripples that lead to a roiling climax in the depressed town where everyone more or less knows who everyone else is. The characters are fairly shallow sketches, but still manage to come alive thanks to the story's own energy. There's even two romances thrown in the mix, and it's nice how every now and then hints are thrown in as to what happened to particular characters. It's a quick read, and one I wouldn't at all be surprised to see on the movie screen at some point. Entertaining stuff.