Having recently
reviewed THE
LAST COLLAR by Lawrence Kelter and Frank Zafiro, John is back today
with another review.
The Origins of Benjamin
Hackett by Gerald M. O'Connor Down and Out Books
In The Origins of Benjamin
Hackett by Gerald M. O’Connor we explore
the Irish city of Cork, it’s denizens and characters, and its lively language.
Told through the eyes of Benjamin Hackett our narrator is on a journey
of discovery a common enough story for many young men turning 18 years of
age. Here’s the difference, on this his 18th birthday in 1996, a hungover Benjamin learns from his
parents that he was, in fact, adopted. Off he goes with, accompanied by
his best mate JJ, to find out the truth of who and why. In the course of
this five-day journey we encounter the Catholic Church of Ireland and
all of its institutional secrecy, the sport of Hurling (as foreign to some as
Quidditch once was), gangsters, arch rivals, distant women and the most
dangerous thing of all, family.
This is
author O’Connor’s debut novel, it
is remarkable that his voice is so developed, there is a lushness apparent
in both language and dialogue, and an equally well-tuned sense of humor.
The ending leaves us with the hope of more, these characters, and
especially our narrator deserve an on-going series. Funny, engaging
and well-paced, it is a diversion worth your time. Highly recommended.
I received an advanced reading copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I received an advanced reading copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
John Stickney
©2017
John
Stickney is a writer formerly from Cleveland, Ohio now residing in North
Carolina. His fiction has appeared in Thuglit, Demolition, Needle, among
others.
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