A cast of rampant miscreants, brilliantly witty dialogue and dark imaginings make KILBRACK compulsive comic reading - an unforgettable encounter with Irish rural life and characters. O'Leary Montagu - tall, dark and normal, as Mary once described him - was born at the age of twenty-five, a difficult age, as he himself admits. He woke up in a hospital bed, a scarred amnesiac, and fell immediately in love with a young nurse, fresh from Ireland, Mary. Eleven years later and Mary, an alcoholic now and traumatized herself by O'Leary's neuroses, flees to her parents in Ireland. He finds himself homeless, impecunious and labouring under an ill-starred fate. But at least he has the memoirs of his beloved Nancy Valentine to guide him. He embarks on his life-long ambitition: to visit Kilbrack, her idyllic childhood home, and write her biography. The arrival of this stranger in the dilapidated village proves an unsettling affair, not least for the local pharmacist, J.D.Downey, 'dispenser of drugs and advice', and for Nellie Maguire, erratic spinster of the pub. The frenzied Mrs Cuthbert makes plans for O'Leary to marry her daughter, Livia, and restore the family fortune. But Livia, to spite her mother, vows to become a nun. The parish priest is busy cornering the Irish ham market; while from the big house comes a thin sardonic laughter as Valentine Brack composes his endless histories. What has happened to Kilbrack? As Nancy Valentine says in her memoirs, 'Love that dared to speak her name was forced to quit her home.' O'Leary's coming will change all that, but in a manner no one - in his right mind - could foretell.
Categories:
- Literature & Fiction
- Contemporary
Publisher : Simon & Schuster Ltd
Author : O'Neill, Jamie
Language : English
Edition : New
Published :2003-02-28
Number Of Pages : 240
Binding : paperback
ISBN-10 : 0743231724
ISBN-13 : 9780743231725
Item weight : 0.58 lb
Dimensions : 1.34 in x 5.08 in x 7.87 in
Returns Policy
You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).
You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the 'Complete Orders' link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.
Shipping
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.