A Kind of Sleep

by Chris Ould

Withthe publication of his second novel, British author Ould (Road Lines proves to be a brave writer, this time realistically tackling terrorism from the point of view of terrorists. Though this narrative may disconcert some readers, it manages to involve us, eschewing stereotypes. In long, loping sentences amid paradoxically graceful images of decay, ruin and stagnation, we are plunged into the shadowy world of Joe Larne, a Provisional IRA member who has been in a "kind of sleep" (i.e., retirement) for several years. Joe works in a scrap metal yard in London, but he is "awoken" first by the reappearance of an old compatriot, Danny Mallon, and then young hit-man Dave Hagen. Joe belatedly realizes that once you're in the IRA, you're in for life. Danny is blown up, nine IRA members are subsequently arrested by the police and Joe is finally driven to act. In this world of urban terrorists, violent acts are casual and self-perpetuating. Ould's terrorists have lost sight of their organization's outraged origins, each violent act, instead, merely propagating another and failing to solve problems that beg such simple solutions.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

254 pages, Paperback

Published May 19, 1988

About the author

Chris Ould is a BAFTA award winning screenwriter who has worked on TV shows including The Bill, Soldier Soldier, Casualty and Hornblower. Chris has previously published two adult novels, and the second of his series of Young Adult crime novels, The Killing Street, was published by Usborne in June 2013.