A tale of 1960s Belfast told in two parts. Part one is full of rich characters and witty dialogue. Naive Martin and his friends, pre-occupied with the thorny issues of religion, sex and morality study for their A Levels under the watchful eye of various priests. There's brilliantly funny repartee, especially from the guests who join Martin's mother for her regular supper evenings. Part 2 touches on the troubles in Belfast and Martin's life after he leaves school but does not seem to be fully integrated into the novel as a whole and I felt a bit disappointed at the end.