Knick Knack Paddy Whack

A foulmouthed young Dublin security guard spends a rowdy weekend in his hometown in this "dazzling dark comedy" debut for fans of Roddy Doyle and Nick Hornby (USA Today).

Not since Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye has literature seen a young man with as much contempt for hypocrisy and phoniness as Patrick Scully, the narrator of this brilliantly observed tale of a nineteen-year-old's frustrations and dreams. Stuck in a dead-end job in Dublin while his friends pursue useless degrees at the university, Patrick escapes for a week to his hometown of Castlecock, a few hours' bus ride away. There he hooks up with his childhood chum, "Balls" O'Reilly, and his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Francesca—who, as we learn in chapters from her diary, is more interested in "Balls" than she'd want anyone, especially Patrick, to know. What follows is a rollicking weekend of carousing, drinking, and depravity, all seen through Patrick's searing and unforgiving eyes. Laced with hilarious small-town insight, this gripping first novel builds to a shocking climax as Patrick's understanding of the duplicity of his so-called friends becomes more than he can bear.

"Fluently written and excellently constructed. A funny, moving and finally horrifying tale." —Mail on Sunday (UK)

"A robust and resonant read. A skillful and thoughtful work that will shake, rattle and roll the reader into submission." —Irish Times