Quirke-y

This time of year I always get a hankering for a Benjamin Black novel, and this one's no exception. Set in Dublin circa the early nineteen-fifties, these books (actually written by Man Booker Prize winner John Banville, who uses Black as a pseudonym) are expertly paced and beautifully written.  I'm happy to say that Even the Dead, number seven in the series, is as enthralling and entertaining as the ones that came before. (You don't have to have read the previous installments to get the gist of Quirke's grim, complex history, but it sure doesn't hurt.) So if your Tardis is on the fritz or Aer Lingus a bit out of your price range, I highly recommend reading this as a worthy substitute. Slainte!