Long Time, No See - Hardcover

Healy, Dermot

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0571276261 ISBN 13: 9780571276264

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2011

Synopsis

Long Time, No See introduces us to the unforgettable world of Mister Psyche . In the isolated coastal townland of Ballintra in the Northwest of Ireland Recent school-leaver, occasional worker, full-time companion and Malibu-provider to Uncle Joe-Joe and his friend, The Blackbird, Psyche is a boy on the cusp of adulthood, undone by a recent traumatic event. Hanging out with men some forty-plus years his senior proves hazardous for Mister Psyche when the appearance of a bullet-hole in Uncle Joe-Joe's window draws him into a series of (mis)-adventures which unsettle and bemuse. Perhaps The Blackbird is losing it? Or perhaps The General has decided to act on a decades-old grudge? Whichever way, as the paranoia grabs a creeping hold of Uncle Joe-Joe, his fragile world threatens to collapse. And it is Mister Psyche who must digest this and acknowledge the new world taking shape in the old ...An epic in miniature peopled by a cast of innocents and broken misfits, Long Time, No See's lyrical power casts a miraculous literary spell.

About this title

Review

`A grand read, funny and provocative.' --Annie Proulx, GUARDIAN

`A celebration of the whole gift of existence ... compassionate and elegiac.' --Keith Hopper, TLS

`All Healy's characters talk brilliantly and the whole novel is bult out of their talk ... a genuinely moving novel.' --Carlo Gébler, FINANCIAL TIMES

'Funny, sad, wild, tender, profound, brilliant, Healy.' --Roddy Doyle

'A brilliant, crazed, cruel and savagely funny book by a writer at the peak of his mighty powers.'
--Frank McGuinness

'Terrific and exhilarating ... wonderfully wry story of the daily goings-on in a remote village in northwestern Ireland.' --Sunday Times

'Through Psyche's eyes the reader encounters the often eccentric locals, including two charismatic old men, Joe-Joe and the Blackbird. But the little town is hiding some dark secrets...' --Irish Times

'Linguistic richness, humour and brilliant characterisation from one of Ireland's best writers ... compassionate yet unsentimental evocation of a rural community clinging to its identity whilst adapting to new people and change. The sparkling dialogue alone makes Healy worth reading.' --James Robertson, Scotland on Sunday

'Through Psyche's eyes the reader encounters the often eccentric locals, including two charismatic old men, Joe-Joe and the Blackbird. But the little town is hiding some dark secrets...' --Irish Times

'The most exhilarating book I read this year ... Healy draws us in by the sheer exuberance and inventiveness of his writing. Much of the novel is in dialogue, wonderfully pitched, full of surreal flourishes and often very funny indeed. This is a lovely book about the extraordinary nature of ordinary life, generously conceived and beautifully executed.' --Peter Parker, TLS Books of the Year

'Through Psyche's eyes the reader encounters the often eccentric locals, including two charismatic old men, Joe-Joe and the Blackbird. But the little town is hiding some dark secrets...' --Irish Times

Book Description

Long Time, No See is Dermot Healy's long-awaited new novel, from one of the greatest of contemporary Irish novelists in a stunning limited edition package.

Edition details

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0571276261
• ISBN 13: 9780571276264
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 448