City of Bohane by Kevin Barry
"Extraordinary . . . Barry takes us on a roaring journey . . . Powerful, exuberant fiction." --The New York Times Book Review (front cover)
Set forty years in the future, City of Bohane presents a once-great Irish city on the west coast now brought to its knees by vice and tribal warfare. Kevin Barry's debut novel creates a vivid portrait of Bohane, from the posh districts to the slums of Smoketown, the tower blocks of the North Rises, and the haunting bogs of the Big Nothin'.
Logan Hartnett, the dapper godfather of the Hartnett Fancy gang, has controlled the city for years. But his reign faces threats from multiple fronts: rumors of his old nemesis returning to town, ambitious henchmen plotting their moves, and his wife pressuring him to abandon the criminal life. The novel follows this power struggle through the gritty streets and backstreets where Bohane truly lives.
Barry crafts a unique literary voice that combines Celtic mythology with Caribbean rhythms, fado music with cinematic techniques, and graphic novel aesthetics with the rich tradition of Irish literature. The result is a darkly comic, beautifully written work that pushes the boundaries of contemporary Irish fiction.
Critical Recognition
City of Bohane received widespread critical acclaim, earning short-list positions for the Irish Novel of the Year and the Costa First Novel awards. The novel won the Author's Club Best First Novel Award and garnered a front-cover review from The New York Times Book Review. Barry's short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and other prestigious publications.
