Night Shift

by Dermot Bolger

previous owners name to title page. minor shelf wear only

Genres: Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Dermot Bolger is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet born in Finglas, a suburb of Dublin.

His work is often concerned with the articulation of the experiences of working-class characters who, for various reasons, feel alienated from society. Bolger questions the relevance of traditional nationalist concepts of Irishness, arguing for a more plural and inclusive society.

In the late 1970s Bolger set up Raven Arts Press, which he ran until 1992 when he co-founded New Island Press.

Reviews

[Brian Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect holiday read for a planned life termination in Switzerland.

[Kevin McAvoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read 1/3 of the book but an animal cruelty scene upset me. Too harsh for me.

[A. Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fault may be mine and not Bolger's, but I struggled through part one feeling adrift. It wasn't until part two that I got my bearings and began to see how the parallel, and occasionally intersecting, stories fit what their destination might be. In the end, it was a satisfying whole. Although, for a time, it seemed as though Bolger wrote joint protagonists, the story is mostly Donal's. It's the story of a seeming ascent, a positive life trajectory, but Donal is only eighteen, and he has a lot to discover about himself and the people he knows and the people he sees on the streets of his city.