Perpetual Comedown

by Declan Toohey

As a doctoral student at Trinity College Dublin, Darren Walton is trying to decode an elaborate conspiracy he stumbled across as an undergraduate. To do so he must locate an alternate Ireland named Camland, the existence of which is proven when he discovers a literary journal whose contents mirror his own past. With proof of his wild theories, Darren is sure academic fame is imminent. But for this he is willing to sacrifice not just his sanity and physical safety, but also his relationships with the ones who love him most.

In breathless prose, Declan Toohey weaves a contemporary yarn of academic intrigue and youthful irreverence, sexual fluidity and neurodiversity. Experimental, trippy, hilarious, compassionate, Perpetual Comedown is a riotous reckoning in the construction of the self.

Genres: Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published February 13, 2023

About the author

Declan Toohey was born in Paisley, Scotland and raised in County Kildare, Ireland. His work has appeared in Channel, Soft Punk, and the anthology Queer Love, among other outlets. In 2021 he was a co-winner of the IWC Novel Fair, and he is the 2022 recipient of the Maeve Binchy Travel Award. He is currently an MFA candidate at University College Dublin, where he is working on his second novel under the supervision of Anne Enright.

Reviews

[Barry Pierce · Rating 2 out of 5]

staggeringly juvenile work but I do suppose it is original.

[Colin Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Complete lunacy the entire time. I think I'll be seeing gourds and pumpkins in my dreams from now on.

Wasn't completely life changing but the prose and highly original story was super enjoyable!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

truly what the fuck

[James Durkan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perpetual Comedown / Declan Toohey

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (upvoted to 4 ⭐️)

~ Normally, babe, when we get to this part of the job, I talk for an hour about unpleasant truths, narrative, selfhood. But today is different, so I’ll give you the redacted version. Okay?… ~

So, I remember seeing this book, being intrigued, taking it out from the library last year but never reading it. I saw it again a few weeks ago in the bookshop and said I’m going to give this a go.

This is the story of Dar, in the world of academia and coming upon a conspiracy. Or has he? With a fractured life and questionable actions, he goes through it to find out all on Camland. Whatever it took. while the story unfolded.

Notes I took throughout included - This book is, a lot. But loving the uni days in Maynooth. Am I supposed to like Dar? Empathise with him? Or is this just a journey I need to see out until the end?

By the time it gets to the end you can see why he has obsessed, see why he is like this. It is emotional along the journey.

It gets 3.5 but while wildly original, and experimental, it was a bit too far out there for me. Love a bit of wtfery, but can there be a such thing as too much wtfery? The ending brought around.

A good look into one man’s obsession, its consequences, and a look out for a different side to mental health. Also, appreciated how it was funny while not meaning to be.

[Rachel Handley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning.

[Jonathan Daley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A truly bizarre, absurd and surreal book. Some beautiful prose and engaging form, however the story struggled to properly grab me. The obnoxiousness of the main character was also an opponent to me fully enjoying the story.

[Leo Rodriguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read an article by the author that called this book a goodbye to his academic ambitions. He further said, in a nutshell, that he writes the kind of story he likes, and I guess he likes outlandish and absurdist stories.

That's all fine. There's certainly an original idea here, but it's buried in its own need for speed, so to speak. The story, which is already a bit thin, suffers from it--all these BIG, look-at-this! ideas, all the jumping around, all the maybe-this-is-a-lie declarations--and so I found myself pretty bored.

Which is a shame, because there are definitely sentences in there where I thought, this guy could be funny and smart if the sentences weren't running circles around themselves. But that's just my opinion, it's quite possible I'm a cranky traditionalist.

[Elspeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny and terribly witty meander through the mind of Darren Walton. Sharp insights into the madness of academia abound in this compelling debut from a talented young writer destined for excellent things! I loved it!

[Gayle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank god Flann O' Brien didn't do drugs

[Chloe Avril · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some beautiful and hilarious prose but difficult to stay engaged

[DSHW · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book took me quite a while to read as I didn’t find it overly engaging. I didn’t really get the point of it and felt that ideas were thrown around a lot that didn’t really seem relevant.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely not for everyone. For a debut novel it’s just a wow! A refreshing read

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sort of madness only waiting on the 115 to appear could inspire. An ambitious and enjoyable insight into male mental health, firmly located in the beating heart of the Greater Dublin Area.

[Ellie Fitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Considering this is a debut novel for Toohey, it is an incredibly brave and original concept, and this bravery should be acknowledged. It is difficult to enter into the Irish Fiction sphere, and I think Toohey should be commended for the way in which he approached the oversaturated market by creating a new and exciting world in which readers can enter into free of judgment or expectation.

The passages regarding his relationship with family and friends are the most compelling by far. I would love to see more of this in his future work.