This fabulous novel will take me some time to process. It's the story Cyril Avery, a Irishman, born in 1954 to an unmarried woman and adopted by an eccentric couple who raised him. Cyril knows early in his life that he is gay, and his life in Ireland is filled with bigotry and violence. The hypocrisy of many of the Irish people (mostly Catholic, of course) is front and center.
The author reveals his life story by skipping 7 years in each section which sounds awkward but it works. As we leap from one part of Cyril's story to the next, we catch up with what has happened in each step. Even with all this leaping, the book is well over 500 pages. But worth it.
Somehow this book manages to be funny, clever, tragic and sad. Some of the dialogue is almost too witty and cute, but it's fun to read. And the ending brings this wonderful cast of characters all together.
I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend. - June
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