Were they abridged editions?
I don’t believe so.
It’s been a while since I read it but there is a character in it called Quinn I think who basically rode everything that moved whether they consented or not.
He is apparently based on a local person who was not very happy about it needless to say.
There was another character called Jimmy Joe McKiernan who was a republican, publican and undertaker. Not to be red confused with John Joe McGirl who was a republican, publican and undertaker.
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I started The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. It is 600 pages long and was apparently short listed for the Booker.
I’ve managed to get to page 129. Which amazes me. It is a load of shite, like something a junior cert student would write. Dreadful.
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Don’t go near Prophet Song so. A load of shite. I still can’t understand the praise for it.
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See above, I thought it was a remarkable book.
I’m reading copper face demon.
I’m as yet undecided whether its ok or brilliant
Demon Copperhead? I thought it was a brilliant book.
It’s a great book in my opinion, but it’s too long, a common complaint for me
I thought the Bee Sting had great moments @Fitzy but it was way way too long
Remarkably weak effort at a premise or imparting any kind of warning on the dangers of fascism/authoritarianism. There’s any amount of research on it and any amount of current events to draw on. I found it lazy and without any effort at the how did we get here piece the book was pointless.
Some bukes I’ve read/listened to recently.
Caedonian rd by Andrew o Hagan. I’m halfway through this tome. A state of the Nation type book from the author of the brilliant ‘Mayflies’. Hugely enjoyable so far. It’s reminiscent of Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities except its set in modern Britain rather than 90s America.
The Outsider by Stephen King. Fairly standard Stephen king fair. Fans will enjoy it but it won’t convince many King sceptics.
A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne. An excellent read on seduction, ageing and literary plagarism. Any time i hear or read interviews with Boyne he comes across as a bit of a dose but i really enjoy his books.
Never let me go by Kazou Ishiguro. Critically acclaimed but I couldn’t get into it at all and gave up halfway through. It read like Fifth term at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton to me. I know there was a dark undercurrent but i realised i didn’t give a fuck about any of the characters so gave up. I really liked Remains of the Day by the same author but this one was not for me.
City of Ruins by Don Winslow. Last in the trilogy about a Roadisland crime family. Probably the weakest of the three but still very good.
Bob Mortimer autobiography ‘And Away’. Decent read if you like the chap. I’d recently read his fiction book The Satzumah Complex and enjoyed it so bought this. An alright sort and i enjoy his gentle off beat humour.
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I mentioned it there a few weeks back. It is excellent
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They will surely make a fillum or Netflix series out of the trilogy
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Reading Operation Chiffon now; decent read but I imagine some of it is repeating some of what Peter Taylor already covered in his other books (based on having seen the documentaries that accompanied those books).
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That’s the one. Been too busy to get stuck into it though 
Reading joey bartons autobiography. It’s written in 2016 before he went full loo la but it’s very very good. It’s good as just a basic football book with gossipy stories etc but also an insight into the mind of a violent psychopath and a study in growing up in an incredibly deprived area in an incredibly dysfunctional family.
He arrived home in disgrace from Thailand after a typically psychotic row with Richard dunne and his brother bursts into the room to tell him their other brother and cousin have gone on the run after a racially motivated murder with an axe.
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I actually just listened to a couple of chapters on audiobook on Spotify earlier. Joey reads it himself. It’s a pity hes gone full ewan contrarian but I suppose he’s replacing the physical violence with Twitter violence.
