Midcentury

"I can't begin to say what brought me here, " confesses the narrator of Midcentury, a verse novella set in Ireland in the nineteen forties. Rich in historical insight, this multi-layered narrative probes the mind and heart of an American lexicographer, down on his luck, who finds solace in the Irish landscape and a respite in Ireland's wartime neutrality. Seeking definitions in a culture which resists them, he discovers in Irish history a refraction of this fortunes and obsessions. By turns passionate and reflective, ironic and visionary, Midcentury tells an engrossing story - one of defeat and recovery, devastation and spiritual renewal.