UTTERLY MONKEY

Raise a pint of Guinness to this debut novel of Northern Ireland that combines humor and heart with subversive intelligence.

The plot pivots on the relationship of two young men from opposite sides of the class divide, who forged a bond in boyhood and who reunite in London after their lives have taken them in different directions. Danny Williams is an upwardly mobile lawyer at a high-pressure firm. Geordie Wilson, Danny’s boyhood Irish schoolmate, has become an unemployed drifter who doesn’t know where to turn after he runs afoul of a gang of political hooligans. He seeks asylum with a surprised Danny, who has trouble accommodating this rough-edged reminder of his small-town past within the upscale urbanity to which he aspires. Complications ensue, as Geordie’s troubles (and those of Northern Ireland) follow him to London, while Danny’s legal research takes him back to his homeland, where he discovers how difficult it can be to disregard the consequences of his work-for-hire. Over the course of the six days detailed within the novel, Danny and Geordie find their lives further complicated by budding romances (or at least sexual dalliances), as their new girlfriends help the unlikely friends explore emotional depths they never knew they had. As Danny stumbles into bed with a woman he perhaps doesn’t deserve, Laird perfectly captures the urgency and awkwardness of intimacy between two folks who barely know each other. Having established a reputation as a prize-winning poet (and perhaps best known as the husband of novelist Zadie Smith), Laird doesn’t concern himself too much with plausibility of plot, but his keen eye for detail and ear for dialect—along with the empathy he displays for his diverse array of characters—give the writing a richness beyond the chance encounters and coincidences on which the novel relies.

Of the Nicks who write about young men coming to terms with their cluelessness, Laird is funnier and edgier than Hornby.