A small Irish town is enthralled by a mysterious foreigner with his white beard, topknot ponytail, potions and healing hands. But Dr. Vlad is a lie, the fictional doppelgänger of the Butcher of Bosnia. This highly praised novel, written in that lyrical prose that is so peculiarly Irish, kept me turning the pages, hungry for more but perhaps because it is based on such recent history, I found it's Irish and London settings a distraction. Just too literal-minded, I suppose.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 81 Summer 2016 ) |
