John The Revelator by Peter Murphy (Faber)
by Patrick O'Connor
TEENAGE angst has been explored in many settings and author Peter Murphy chooses small town Ireland for this novel.
The tale follows John Devine, brought up by his single mum, the chain-smoking, Bible-quoting Lily with occasional help from interfering neighbour Phyliss.
John is a lonely boy destined to be regarded as the spotty 'odd' kid with a fascination for worms and nighmares about crows.
But the arrival of James Corboy, a much more sophisticated and posher individual, changes everything. As with many coming-of-age narratives, John longs to escape from his humdrum existence and James offers the opportunity.
During a long, hot summer the boys become closely knit and James' status as a fellow outsider, enables John to grow emotionally, despite his mother forbidding contact between the two.
A series of adventures eventually lead to a dramatic and traumatic conclusion and John also has to come to term with the fact that his mother is dying.
But although there are some grim moments with the realities of growing up graphically spelt out, John The Revelator, is an uplifting story which Murphy relates with some style.