FICTION

Long Time, No See

by Dermot Healy
Viking. Jul. 2012. c.448p. ISBN 9780670023608. $27.95. F
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Philip Feeney, known as Mister Psyche to the locals of the Irish fishing village Ballintra, spends his days tending to odd jobs and his granduncle Joejoe while waiting for the results of his school exams. When Joejoe's best friend, a curious, sweet-smelling soul known as the Blackbird, badly injures himself, Philip tries to navigate the swelling grief that threatens to overwhelm his family and friends. Philip's own mind and heart, still fragile since the untimely death of his best friend, Mickey, the year before, prove resilient and true.
VERDICT Healy's (Sudden Times; A Goat's Song) first novel in ten years is a triumphant return by the author Roddy Doyle considers "Ireland's greatest writer." Philip's voice, at once tender and odd, like Joejoe's slightly out-of-tune accordion, narrates. His easy familiarity with Ballintra's seasonal rhythms, landscapes, and inhabitants credibly shapes the contours of an interior life open to all perceptions and ideas that existence offers him. A beautiful account of one person's acceptance of his own quiet heroism.
Reviewed by J. Greg Matthews, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman , Jun 15, 2012
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