The Good Son by Paul McVeigh, a humorous and moving coming-of-age novel set in Belfast during the Troubles, is this month’s Irish Times Book Club choice.
Throughout July, we shall explore the book from many angles, not just with its author but also with contributions by several other well-known writers, including Lisa McInerney, winner of the Baileys and Desmond Elliott Prize; Laura van den Berg, whom Salon.com called “the best young writer in America”; Alison Moore, Booker-shortlisted author of The Lighthouse; Lucy Caldwell, winner of the Dylan Thomas & Rooney Prize; Danielle McLaughlin; Paul Burston, author of seven novels and founder of The Polari Salon & Prize; as well as Sarah Hutchings of City Reads Brighton; the author’s agent, Carrie Kania; and his British and German publishers, Jen Emery-Hamilton and Lena Luczak.
We shall also publish the original, 17-year-old, short story on which The Good Son is based, and maybe even a lost chapter never before published. The month will culminate in a podcast in which the author will discuss his novel with Martin Doyle, assistant literary editor of The Irish Times. This will be published on July 31st and recorded at a public event in the Irish Writers Centre, Parnell Square, Dublin, on Tuesday, July 19th, at 7.30pm.
I was born the day the Troubles started.
“Wasn’t I, Ma?” says me.
“It was you that started them son,” says she…
And so begins The Good Son.
Paul McVeigh, who like his protagonist, Mickey, was born in Ardoyne in October 1968, at the start of the Troubles, explains the story behind his story.
“Mickey Donnelly, the ‘me’ of the novel, is 10 years old, leaving primary school and after the summer he will go to big school. It’s a coming-of-age tale played out in the arena of the Troubles, which puts tremendous outside pressure on this character, forcing him to make decisions that will change him and those he loves the most…
“I find it difficult to talk about the Troubles and even those who know me quite well are often shocked when little pieces of my childhood come into conversation when we share stories. It’s not something I chose to talk about often. It’s a little like grief. You can only really talk about it and feel understood when you are with people who have gone through it too. For the most part, it’s something you live with silently.
“Sometimes I think of the Troubles as a Gothic family melodrama. Northern Ireland is this damaged child, beating itself over the head to get attention from the South, the over-sensitive, guilt-ridden, mother that left them behind for a better life, and Britain, the distant, uncaring father who would rather not be left bringing up this problem child, but does so out of obligation.
“In the end, though, The Good Son isn’t about the Troubles, rather, it’s about a little boy who loves his ma, his little sister and his dog. He is going to take on anyone that threatens or hurts those he loves, no matter how big or scary, because love makes you fearless. He takes on his older brother, his Dad, other kids, the IRA. He fights the despair, the bleakness, and the violence. He fights the Troubles. And Mickey Donnelly is just about the boy for the job.”
Sarah Gilmartin, reviewing in The Irish Times, called The Good Son “a spirited debut novel that at times, so loaded with action, veers off course and confuses, but ultimately delivers a real sense of a broken family living in a broken society”.
She also likened Mickey to Francie Brady in Patrick McCabe’s The Butcher Boy, and other reviewers have focused on the strength and appeal of McVeigh’s child protagonist. The Guardian reviewer found him “delightful”. “Mickey Donnelly stole my heart,” said Edel Coffey in her review on RTE’s Arena. “You’ll fall in love with Mickey, he’s one of the loveliest characters you could meet. It’s an excellent debut. It’s a great story, he’s a great writer.”
Paul McVeigh’s work has been performed on stage and radio, published in print and been translated into 7 languages. He began his career as a playwright in his home town, Belfast, before moving to London where he wrote comedy shows, which were performed at the Edinburgh Festival and in London’s West End. The Good Son, his first novel, was Brighton’s City Reads for 2016, shortlisted for The Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and is currently a finalist for The People’s Book Prize and longlisted for The Polari Prize. It was shortlisted for The Guardian’s ‘Not The Booker’ Prize in 2015 and chosen by The Literary Platform to be part of The UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature. He won The McCrea Literary Award in 2015. His short stories have been published in literary journals and anthologies, read on BBC Radio 5 and commissioned by BBC Radio 4. He is the co-founder of London Short Story Festival and Associate Director at Word Factory.
So why not pick up a copy and judge for yourself, then tell us what you think. The Good Son is published by Salt, £8.99. Hodges Figges in Dublin's Dawson Street offers Irish Times Book Club readers a 10 per cent discount on this title.
