City of Bohane

Kevin Barry

If James Joyce had written a futuristic thriller it would probably have been a lot like this. Bohane, Ireland, in mid 21st century is a vision of Hell, with rival factions preparing to fight turf wars to wrest control of the city from long-time godfather, Logan Hartnett. Packed with highly original characters and rich in language, this is a violent yet often funny rollercoaster of a read. It's is a book that stretches the boundaries of fiction.

Extract

A December Tuesday. As miserable as hell's scullery beneath a soot-black sky. The nerves of the city were ripped. Bohane was looking at a total of eight young fellas reefed since the October bank holiday. Five of them belonged to the Cusack mob, three to the Hartnett Fancy, and the city simmered now with bitterness, rage, threat. Girly smiled. To keep Bohane at a rolling boil you just had to turn the heat up on the burner.

Parallels