MICKEY COLLINS

In this novel, an Irishman’s coming-of-age story involves members of his family and their ever expanding criminal records.

A nearly 30-year-old Mickey Collins, hailing from Cork, Ireland, relays his tale from behind bars. At a young age, he learns that crime is simply a part of everyday life. His mother, Tanya, gives jobs to her kids, like drug pickups, and they shoplift clothes with their uncle. Mickey and his older brother, Cillian, get into their own trouble as well, as they sample drugs at their home and (maybe accidentally) burn down an empty building. As years pass, the family’s crimes send the brothers and their sisters to various foster homes before they ultimately go back to Tanya. But as Mickey gets older, run-ins with the law land him in prison. Any time he messes up, as when he supposedly rats out Tanya, his less-than-doting mother berates him mercilessly. Sadly, there comes a point in many criminals’ lives when they have to shift blame onto others to protect themselves. But when Tanya turns on Mickey, it may be out of pure spite. Forde stylizes his novel as a transcription of Mickey’s interviews. As such, the narration meanders, as if Mickey is saying whatever pops into his head. The mostly linear story nevertheless shows clear progression; Tanya becomes more precarious, and adult Mickey’s time locked up is a veritable revolving door. Characters, including Mickey, are generally unlikable, with friends and family members double-crossing one another and rarely owning up to the crimes they commit or find themselves convicted of. Still, humor permeates the absorbing novel, especially Mickey’s unorthodox way of identifying years. As he recalls events, he can only roughly estimate his age (even his current one), and he often gauges the time frame by using his youngest sister (before and after her birth and during Tanya’s pregnancy). It all culminates in an unforgettable open ending that’s prime material for readers to debate.

A sometimes bleak but engrossing tale of misdeeds and untrustworthy loved ones.