Emerald Germs of Ireland (PB) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330489062 ISBN 13: 9780330489065

Publisher: Picador, 2002

Synopsis

Pat McNab, driven by rage and despair, goes on a rampage after killing his mother and ends up murdering more than fifty people. Or is his whiskey-addled mind merely imagining these murders?

Reality collides with fantasy with dizzying impact as Pat reflects on the long-gone days with Mommy, while fending off the persistent interferences of his small-town neighbors: the puritanical Mrs. Tubridy; that irascible seller of turf, the Turf Man; Sgt. "Kojak" Foley, and other unwanted snoops who could soon come to regret their inquisitive, nose-poking ways....

About this title

Review

Emerald Germs of Ireland combines the unstoppable narrative of McCabe's Booker-shortlisted Breakfast on Pluto with the ballad-like episodic format of Mondo Desperado; the result is McCabe's most disciplined and best book to date.

Pat McNabb is a sad sack of a man, 45 and still living at home with his abandoned mother--indeed, still sharing her bed and often to be found seated "on his mother's knee, the pair of them singing away as though they were some ridiculous kind of two-headed human jukebox". But then a thwack from a black saucepan takes away the life of mother McNabb and Pat embarks on an odyssey to cover up his heinous crime, taking a terrible toll on visitors to his house, including a lovestruck childless friend of his mother's and a scheming neighbour with designs on his land. Now his mother's songs haunt his life, at once provoking painful reminiscences and dictating the ingenious nature of the serial killings.

The plot allows McCabe to indulge his trademark grand Gaelic guignol, but even in its most excessive moments there's a sympathy for poor Pat that raises this above its inherent cruelty into something truly affecting. --Alan Stewart

Review

'Emerald Germs is an extraordinary confection. Melancholy, nasty, and extremely funny' Jane Shilling, Sunday Telegraph; 'a mesmerising, disturbing and sometimes wildly funny book' Carolyn Hart, Marie Claire, Book of the Month

Edition details

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0330489062
• ISBN 13: 9780330489065
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English