The Butcher Boy
Patrick McCabe
Very dark Irish novel about an already strange boy's descent into complete
madness and the terrible crime that he commits. Very powerfully written but
there was no surprise in the outcome of the book, it was plain from page
one that something horrific will happen.
Andrew 21/3/99
The story of a young boy growing up. He starts off as a likeable scallywag
but by the time the story finishes he is a psychopath, able to commit
violence without feeling anything. His life is completely wasted, with a
tragic inevitability. The author seems to suggest that the circumstances of
the boy's life have led to this end: he has a dreadful father, terrible things happen to him, he is sent to a reform school and is abused while there. A
very believable, shocking and sad story. Not as brutal as had expected it to be. The murder, when it happens, is cold and clinical but over very quickly. Seán found this a very affecting book, couldn't put it down, "have never read anything like it - highly recommended".
Seán 12/9/99
By the same author
The frames have gone all funny - click to make it good.