Irish Author Patrick McCabe's "The Butcher Boy" Shortlisted for Man Booker Prize

Before starting "The Butcher Boy" note, this is an arduous read that is both revolting and sublime.  Patrick McCabe (b Ireland 1955) has twice been nominated for the Man Booker.  This aching tale of a deeply disturbed and destructive young man takes us inside the head of its protagonist, Francie Brady.  McCabe's writing captures the unique Irish cadence & social dynamics of an impoverished, small rural town where drunkeness is the norm.  Not everyone in town is down on their luck.  The Nugent family, has a son Phillip the same age as Francie.  They are among the elite who look down their noses on those below them on the pecking order.  Mrs Nugent is the chief hen of the haughty crowd.  She publicly shames Francie's mother after he & his best mate, Joe Purcell, steal Phillip Nugent's comics, calling the family filthy pigs.  It's clear early on that Mrs Nugent is Francie's nemesis.  The enmity Francie feels towards Mrs Nugent is fueled by every hard knock Francie gets in life.  True, Francie is also his own worst enemy and his abhorrent behavior we know will only end atrociously is countered by empathy we feel for him.   Francie is not without deep feelings for his alcoholic pa, clinically depressed ma and boyhood friend, Joe.  Joe & his parents prosper while Francie's own mental state deteriorate.  Nonetheless, its Joe's feelings of anathema & jealous towards the Nugents and neediness for affection that is not forthcoming from his folks or his friend that confound our growing attachment & repulsion towards him.  McCabe's brilliantly brutal novel is comparable to "Catcher in the Rye" & "A Girl is a Half-formed Thing" but even more intense & horrifying.   McCabe's scorching novel  evokes feelings of compassion & sorrow for Francie's misfortune and madness in spite of his heinous actions.   In Francie's world, "All the beautiful things of the world are lies.  They count for nothing in the end."