seanmcfinn 's review for:

Ghosts & Lightning by Trevor Byrne

4.0

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Brilliant. It's this (young) guy's first novel. I could reach for criticisms, but - why? It's his enthusiasm and skill at telling a story heavy with Dublin colloquialism that does not in any way hold up or slow down the story. It moves, it cooks and it has a big, big heart. And I'm not even three quarters in! Also, I appreciate that it's not plotty; I mean, he gives his characters move through their world making choices that make sense for who they are rather than what would move some affixed plot forward. I'm loving it. There's a druggy, thuggy character named Slaughter, and the narrator encapsulates what he imagines Slaughter's mind to be like - sums it up in one brilliant, succinct, poetic image. Magic.