Following the massive success of his multi-award-winning debut, City of Bohane, the pressure was really on Kevin Barry with his sophomore novel. Thankfully, Beatlebone, which imagines a trip taken by John Lennon to the desolate island he owned in Clew Bay, ably demonstrates that the Limerick-born writer is no one-trick-pony.
In fact, Barry has numerous literary tricks, all of which are ably deployed in this short, surreal and often hilarious novel. Chief amongst them is his virtuoso ability to capture both the Scouse and Mayo vernaculars. Lennon has hired a local man named Cornelius to get him to the island. Pretty soon, this verbally-sparring odd couple start to resemble Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Towards the end, Barry inserts himself into the story with a description of how he wrote the book. It’s a high-risk meta-fictional strategy that would have been laughable in less capable hands. Here, it works perfectly. Superb stuff.