For The Good Times

David Keenan

David Keenan’s second novel plunges the reader into the hell that was Belfast in the 1970s: a world of gangsters and terrorism, crude bombs and sectarian violence.

Out of stock

Format
Ebook
ISBN
9780571340538
Date Published
22.01.2019

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Summary

WINNER OF THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2019
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ENCORE AWARD 2020

From the author of This Is Memorial Device.

‘A gasp-inducing thrill of a ride.i Independent

‘An exhilarating novel, burning with rage, danger and dark humour.’ Literary Review

‘Remarkable . . . demented brilliance.’
Scotland on Sunday

Belfast, 1970s: Sammy and his three friends live in an impoverished area of the city that has become the epicentre of a country seemingly intent on cannibalising itself. They love sharp clothes, a good drink, and the songs of Perry Como, whose commitment to clean living holds up a dissonant mirror to their own attempts to rise above their circumstances. They dream of a Free State, and their methods for achieving this are uncompromising.

But For the Good Times is not just a novel about the IRA. It is about the heartbreak and devastation that commitment to ‘the cause’ can bring; of violence and betrayal, breakdown and rebirth.

Critic Reviews

For the Good Times is a 1970s Northern Ireland tale of casual but extreme violence, dressed up in Perry Como songs. The singer’s supposedly flawless ethics, and his immaculate dress code, have stayed with me since I read it last summer. At times as unpleasant as it is entertaining, the book is a journey into the shattered sound of the voices of damned males howling from a bottomless well.’

Sjon, New Statesman Books of the Year

DavidKeenan

David Keenan is the author of England’s Hidden Reverse: A Secret History of the Esoteric Underworld and a senior critic on The Wire.

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DavidKeenan

David Keenan

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