Critical Mick

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Have Ye No Homes To Go To?
Neville Thompson
Poolbeg, 1999

There's No Show Like A Joe Show

An ambitious book, HYNHTGT? gives us the lives of eight central characters who live within spitting distance of a pub. (Thus one slant on the barman’s closing-up cry of the title). Again, we see where they are and what factors have brought them here. There’s love, violence, music (one hilarious scene involving a punk band- dude!) The interaction is more complex, the trails just as honest. Also complex is the book’s structure- divided up into sections that focus on the view of one of the eight. There’s plenty enough crossover, people and events recurring, to keep a plot humming along. It’s interesting. It’s an experiment that works.

On the downside? A few elements of the conclusion are transparent (though the end still holds twists and surprises) and I found one of the characters a real moan. "Pick yerself up and do something about it, woman!" I felt like yelling, anytime one of her sections came up. But, she was just a character in a novel and not a real bird so I’d skim ahead ‘til the next interesting bit.

A solid four stars out of five.

Mick proudly presents a profile of Neville Thompson on the DFA Guide to Dublin.

Neville Thompson, the man with the truth. Critical Mick says: Why not read Have Ye No Homes To Go To?

Yo! This review and all content on the DFA Guide site are copyright 2005 Mick Halpin. All links to other sites and documents are copyright to whatever source wrote something cool enough for Mick to give it a referral. Try to claim them as your own work and bad karma will catch up with you, baby. Believe it.

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This Page Was Last Updated On 30 May, 2005.