Set in the International Hotel on the eve of the Troubles in 1967, when Belfast is a small city hovering on the edge of chaos, Glenn Patterson's non-sectarian, apolitical novel offers a glimpse into the lives of a disparate group of characters.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
The International Hotel lies at the heart of Belfast city, in a "lingering opulence" of black marble, mosaic and frosted glass. It is January 1967, the day before the inaugural meeting of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association will put the hotel on the map, long before failing business will remove it in 1975.
The novel sweeps in a leisurely and hugely enjoyable arc through that day as seen by the hotel's newest barman, 18-year-old Danny Hamilton, who has been forced to bar work after a homosexual indiscretion, known as "the Unpleasantness" at a school dance. Danny blends in perfectly with the crafty, nuanced apolitical ambiance, having non-religious, mixed faith parents who felt that choosing between being Protestant and Catholic was like "choosing between turnip and swede." These are the days of brown lemonade, fizzy orange and hives, a time before Belfast was televised, when it was known as "the City That Can't Stay Awake". Danny finds that his tentative attempts to find sex match the general furtiveness of sex in the North. He has his eye on Stanley, a puppeteer who spends his day in the bar waiting to meet "the man from Crackerjack" and also, for different reasons, on a young woman called Ingrid, in a pink suit and hat, who's threatening to disrupt the wedding party in the Damask Room upstairs. Patterson's portrait of the camaraderie of the barstaff, with their sharp quips, agile movements and speedy customer assessment is beautifully drawn. "... the till never stopped. Jamesie and I flung ourselves about like tennis players, every serve met by an instant return."
The writing is packed with verve as Patterson not only builds a lushly cinematic atmosphere of the hotel, but also a funny and endearing picture of a city about to be ruptured almost beyond all recognition. The menace is subtly handled as it becomes clear that Danny has been employed because four staff have been shot two weeks before, one, Peter Ward, being the same age as Danny. The nostalgia for what Belfast might have been had it not "disgraced itself" is carefully restrained. In a remarkably understated postscript which details the fate many of the characters were to meet in the seventies, Patterson demonstrates his skill in evoking the circularity and quietly sad irony of Northern Ireland's tragedies. "Oh, it just goes on and on, I shouldn't get started." --Cherry Smyth
" Quirky, tragi-comic, bittersweet--a day in the life of a city observed from one man's particular angle, and made all the more poignant because we know that it is going to end in nightmare." --"The Times "
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
£ 3
Within U.S.A.
Seller: Books From California, Simi Valley, CA, U.S.A.
paperback. Condition: Good. Seller Inventory # mon0003113189
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: As New. No Jacket. Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.95. Seller Inventory # G1862300879I2N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.95. Seller Inventory # G1862300879I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.95. Seller Inventory # G1862300879I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: AwesomeBooks, Wallingford, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The International, The This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 7719-9781862300873
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Bahamut Media, Reading, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 6545-9781862300873
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Anybook.com, Lincoln, United Kingdom
Condition: Good. This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has soft covers. Clean from markings With owner's name inside cover. In good all round condition. Seller Inventory # 9756528
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Buchkanzlei, Bremen, Germany
Paperback. Condition: Sehr gut. 288 Seiten Mit Widmung des Autors auf Titel. Sehr gut erhalten mit nur leichten Gebrauchsspuren // With dedication from the author on the title. Very well preserved with only slight signs of wear 594 Sprache: Englisch Gewicht in Gramm: 419. Seller Inventory # 26378
Quantity: 1 available