First published 2002
Pat McNab has settled into a comfortable routine at forty-five. He smokes cigarettes while leaning against the bar at Sullivans Select. He sits on his mother's lap while they sing together like a bizarre human music machine. This predictable life comes to an abrupt end when Pat kills his mother. The story follows Pat through the twelve months after this matricide. He must navigate a world without the woman who anchored his existence, however strangely. Pat's year unfolds as a darkly comic exploration of guilt, isolation, and the aftermath of an unthinkable act. McCabe crafts Pat's journey with sharp humor that cuts through the horror of his situation. The novel examines how a man rebuilds his identity after destroying the most fundamental relationship in his life.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, dark
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: dark-protagonist, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Ireland
Period: 20th-century
Paperback · Picador
Content warnings: murder, violence