by Kevin Barry
First published 2011
Logan Hartnett controls the decaying Irish city of Bohane forty years from now. His Hartnett Fancy gang has kept the peace for years across Smoketown's slums, the Northside Rises tower blocks, and the desolate Big Nothin' bogs. Hartnett cuts a sharp figure as he moves through his territory, but his empire faces threats from multiple directions. Word spreads that his old enemy has returned to challenge him. His lieutenants grow restless and scheming. His wife pressures him to abandon the criminal life entirely. Even his mother complicates his position. The city splits along tribal boundaries while vice spreads through its streets. Hartnett must navigate these mounting pressures while maintaining his grip on power. The story unfolds in a linguistic blend that draws from Celtic mythology, musical rhythms, and Irish literary tradition. At its heart lies Hartnett's struggle between the violent world that made him and the possibility of a different future.
Genres: dystopia, literary-fiction, crime, 21st-century
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, thought-provoking
Tropes: anti-hero, power-struggle, urban-decay
Setting: Bohane, Ireland, Smoketown, Northside Rises, Big Nothin'
Period: Future
277 pages · Paperback · Jonathan Cape
Content warnings: violence