What do you think?
Rate this book
Bad Day in Blackrock
**Inspiration for the 2012 award-winning film What Richard Did – from the author of White City , available for pre-order now**
'An excellent novel... It comes from the gut, it's raw, it's passionate' John Boyne, author of The Boy in Striped Pyjamas
On a late August night a young man is kicked to death outside a Dublin nightclub and celebration turns to devastation. The reverberations of that event, its genesis and aftermath, are the subject of this extraordinary story, stripping away the veneer of a generation of Celtic cubs, whose social and sexual mores are chronicled and dissected in this tract for our times.
The victim, Conor Harris, his killers - three of them are charged with manslaughter - and the trial judge share common childhoods and schooling in the privileged echelons of south Dublin suburbia. The intertwining of these lives leaves their afflicted families in moral free fall as public exposure merges with private anguish and imploded futures.
Praise for Kevin
'Kevin Power is an author of magnificent control, stirring the deepest compassion with restless anger in this piercing contemporary novel' Frank McGuinness
'This novel marks the debut of a deeply moral and probing writer - and a potentially great one' Sunday Post (Ireland)
' White City is a dark, hilarious and emotionally profound study of the toxic effects of greed and entitlement. Also, a story brilliantly and movingly told. Couldn’t stop reading it. Will read it again' Ed O'Loughlin, author of Not Untrue and Not Unkind and This Eden
' This is part thriller but mostly a look at what it means to grow up... full of ridiculously beautiful, polished, & often scathing sentences. This novel is pleasing on so many levels, both intellectually & emotionally... You'll laugh, you'll cry... Read it, read it, read it' Claire Hennessy, author, editor & publisher at Banshee Press
'An excellent novel... It comes from the gut, it's raw, it's passionate' John Boyne, author of The Boy in Striped Pyjamas
On a late August night a young man is kicked to death outside a Dublin nightclub and celebration turns to devastation. The reverberations of that event, its genesis and aftermath, are the subject of this extraordinary story, stripping away the veneer of a generation of Celtic cubs, whose social and sexual mores are chronicled and dissected in this tract for our times.
The victim, Conor Harris, his killers - three of them are charged with manslaughter - and the trial judge share common childhoods and schooling in the privileged echelons of south Dublin suburbia. The intertwining of these lives leaves their afflicted families in moral free fall as public exposure merges with private anguish and imploded futures.
Praise for Kevin
'Kevin Power is an author of magnificent control, stirring the deepest compassion with restless anger in this piercing contemporary novel' Frank McGuinness
'This novel marks the debut of a deeply moral and probing writer - and a potentially great one' Sunday Post (Ireland)
' White City is a dark, hilarious and emotionally profound study of the toxic effects of greed and entitlement. Also, a story brilliantly and movingly told. Couldn’t stop reading it. Will read it again' Ed O'Loughlin, author of Not Untrue and Not Unkind and This Eden
' This is part thriller but mostly a look at what it means to grow up... full of ridiculously beautiful, polished, & often scathing sentences. This novel is pleasing on so many levels, both intellectually & emotionally... You'll laugh, you'll cry... Read it, read it, read it' Claire Hennessy, author, editor & publisher at Banshee Press
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
18 people are currently reading
488 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Power
58 books29 followersAuthor of Bad Day in Blackrock (Lilliput Press, 2008; Pocket Books, 2010), filmed as What Richard Did (Element Films, 2012). PhD in American Literature. Lectures in English & Creative Writing in the School of English, Dublin City University. Winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature 2009 and the Hennessy XO Award for Emerging Fiction 2008. Writes regularly for The Sunday Business Post and Literary Review. Has also written for The Dublin Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Millions, The Dublin Review of Books, The Irish Times, The Irish Independent, The Sunday Times, Strange Horizons, UCD Scholarcast, The Mailer Review, Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, Emerging Perspectives, The Stinging Fly. Short fiction has appeared in Banshee, on RTE Radio 1, in Reading the Future (Arlen House 2017), in The Stinging Fly, The Sunday Business Post, The Hennessy Book of Irish Writing 2005-2015 (New Island 2015), New Irish Short Stories (Faber 2011), These Are Our Lives (Stinging Fly Press 2006), Guts, Circle & Square (Fiery Arrow 2015). New novel on the way. Tweets @KevPow3.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
September 14, 2010
This book is a fictionalised re-telling of a real life event, the killing of a young man outside a Dublin nightclub. Power has re-worked many of the details, something which has irked some reviewers. However, the established facts have been well documented, and by distancing himself from them Power has, in my opinion, allowed himself to concentrate on the context rather than on journalistic reporting.
The key element therefore is the picture painted of the privileged world of southside school and college Dublin, where the younger generation grow in pampered impunity and the older generation have an insular and untouchable comfort. Power has observed this first hand and captures the nuances succinctly. In many ways this story is like a dark reflection of the satirical Ross O'Carroll-Kelly comedies, which themselves are an astute observation of the same social class.
Most chilling in some ways is not the actual killing, but the attitute of 'we'll get this sorted out' because 'this type of thing doesn't happen to people like us', something which will strike a chord with many Irish readers. (I recall this being a central line of thought in Bonfire of the Vanities).
I found the book engaging and well constructed; as a minor quibble there were some lapses in terminology in the descriptions of rugby (although perhaps Power's narrator is distancing himself from the central part the sport plays in the society depicted).
There were times when I found myself revisiting the real life facts to check the parallels, but it will read as a self-contained story to those not familiar with the true life events.
This has much to recommend it to those who are familiar with the Dublin social classes, but also to a wider book-loving audience.
The key element therefore is the picture painted of the privileged world of southside school and college Dublin, where the younger generation grow in pampered impunity and the older generation have an insular and untouchable comfort. Power has observed this first hand and captures the nuances succinctly. In many ways this story is like a dark reflection of the satirical Ross O'Carroll-Kelly comedies, which themselves are an astute observation of the same social class.
Most chilling in some ways is not the actual killing, but the attitute of 'we'll get this sorted out' because 'this type of thing doesn't happen to people like us', something which will strike a chord with many Irish readers. (I recall this being a central line of thought in Bonfire of the Vanities).
I found the book engaging and well constructed; as a minor quibble there were some lapses in terminology in the descriptions of rugby (although perhaps Power's narrator is distancing himself from the central part the sport plays in the society depicted).
There were times when I found myself revisiting the real life facts to check the parallels, but it will read as a self-contained story to those not familiar with the true life events.
This has much to recommend it to those who are familiar with the Dublin social classes, but also to a wider book-loving audience.
April 22, 2014
Loved this book. Bleak but insightful look at the lives of the children of the Irish middle class. Based on a real event, this got embroiled in a bit of controversy but don't get distracted by trying to match the fictional events to the real-life ones - this book is too important for that. This is also the author's first book and while it has a little of that first-book clunkiness you sometimes find with young writers, it's a real achievement. Reminds me a little of the work of Jay McInerney and Bret Easton Ellis but the Dublin 4 setting brings the nihilism and narcissism right home. Never mind the journalistic comment on the wrongs of the Celtic Tiger, Kevin Power nails that sense of entitlement which allows people to think that the law somehow doesn't apply to them.
June 28, 2012
I didn't enjoy this at all. Kevin Power saw a story on the telly, so he said "If I turn this into a book and change the names, while adding loads of "he might have", "maybe he", "we don't know" blah blah blah tabloid type nonsense, I can haz monies".
If he wrote this as a true story, there could have been the potential for a decent book, but he didn't. He has added so much nonsense, it reads like 250 page article in the Daily Star.
If he wrote this as a true story, there could have been the potential for a decent book, but he didn't. He has added so much nonsense, it reads like 250 page article in the Daily Star.
December 18, 2019
It was a quick read, a solid 4 star book for me. I couldn't understand what was up with the narrator of this book, but I liked how it all came together in the end. I enjoyed the simple writing style. It was mostly interesting, but repetitive at times.
January 13, 2022
Read like an unusually bleak Ross O’Carroll-Kelly novel.
April 13, 2022
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
January 1, 2018
L'ho comperato per affetto (ho abitato a Stillorgan vicino a Blackrock per mesi) ma ho scoperto un bel romanzo.
Il libro inizia con l'uccisione di un ragazzo all'uscita di una discoteca, da subito sappiamo chi sono gli aggressori (3 suoi amici/compagni di scuola), conosciamo la dinamica (3 calci mortali) e la motivazione (gelosia: fidanzata di uno ex fidanzata dell'altro).
Il libro si snoda capitolo dopo capitolo nel tentativo di capire perché si sia arrivata a questo tragico avvenimento, analizzando le cause sociali ed economiche (le poche righe sul boom economico e sui suoi effetti sono notevoli per profondità e per capacità di centrare perfettamente causa-effetto), personali, emotive, famigliari, di contesto, etc.
Ogni elemento viene sviscerato, pensieri e motivazioni, caratteri e attitudini. Ma viene fatto con una pietas che coinvolge tutti i (disgraziati) protagonisti. E con uno stile di scrittura notevole per la capacità di non eccedere mai sul côté sentimentale, e per una oggettività narrativa ancora più eclatante quando si arriva alle ultime pagine e si rileva la figura del narratore. Ottimo libro.
Il libro inizia con l'uccisione di un ragazzo all'uscita di una discoteca, da subito sappiamo chi sono gli aggressori (3 suoi amici/compagni di scuola), conosciamo la dinamica (3 calci mortali) e la motivazione (gelosia: fidanzata di uno ex fidanzata dell'altro).
Il libro si snoda capitolo dopo capitolo nel tentativo di capire perché si sia arrivata a questo tragico avvenimento, analizzando le cause sociali ed economiche (le poche righe sul boom economico e sui suoi effetti sono notevoli per profondità e per capacità di centrare perfettamente causa-effetto), personali, emotive, famigliari, di contesto, etc.
Ogni elemento viene sviscerato, pensieri e motivazioni, caratteri e attitudini. Ma viene fatto con una pietas che coinvolge tutti i (disgraziati) protagonisti. E con uno stile di scrittura notevole per la capacità di non eccedere mai sul côté sentimentale, e per una oggettività narrativa ancora più eclatante quando si arriva alle ultime pagine e si rileva la figura del narratore. Ottimo libro.
November 11, 2018
“This is the worst thing that ever happened to us. This is the only story I will ever be able to tell.”
With these words, Power's story caught me. The reader is whisked along by an unreliable narrator who refuses to identify himself until the very end, who repeatedly tells us that he has no answers and wasn't even present for many of the events, indicating that much of the story is second- or third-hand information. The facts are laid out in a meandering path that slowly adds up to an uncertain future based on an uncertain past.
We all retell, over and over, our own worst story to anyone who will listen. We replay all the variations leading up to those events, examining motivations and nuances in a search for meaning. Reading someone else's obsession over an 'incident' reflects our own practices back to us. Powers did a magnificent job holding up a mirror for society and the reader.
With these words, Power's story caught me. The reader is whisked along by an unreliable narrator who refuses to identify himself until the very end, who repeatedly tells us that he has no answers and wasn't even present for many of the events, indicating that much of the story is second- or third-hand information. The facts are laid out in a meandering path that slowly adds up to an uncertain future based on an uncertain past.
We all retell, over and over, our own worst story to anyone who will listen. We replay all the variations leading up to those events, examining motivations and nuances in a search for meaning. Reading someone else's obsession over an 'incident' reflects our own practices back to us. Powers did a magnificent job holding up a mirror for society and the reader.
May 25, 2025
The rarified elite social strata of South County Dublin with its posh schools and rugby jock boys is examined around the fictionalized killing of a young man outside a nightclub based on a notorious such incident that occurred in the early 2000s. The privilege, power and entitlement of the Irish establishment so heavily populated by South County types emerges as the narrative unfolds and some of the workings of the Belfield-Blackrock dominant class become apparent. The main protagonists come across as flimsy ciphers cruising on their predetermined socially reproductive journeys. The intrusion of the savage violence of the homicidal assault upends the assumed life pathways of the young characters, however we are left feeling uneasy at the conclusion around questions of justice and about the entrenched interests of the social class that still seem to run Ireland.
May 23, 2021
Although a work of fiction this is based on a true story of an incident which resulted in the death of a young man in a fight outside a Nite Club. Kevin Power captures the world of
The privileged fee paying student beautifully. Right until the end you are unaware of who the narrator is and there is an element of suspense in the final chapters. He is a gifted writer who convincingly describes the lives of a particular social class in Dublin and weaves the story of the death of a young man into a vivid commentary on class, privilege, and ultimately deceit.
The privileged fee paying student beautifully. Right until the end you are unaware of who the narrator is and there is an element of suspense in the final chapters. He is a gifted writer who convincingly describes the lives of a particular social class in Dublin and weaves the story of the death of a young man into a vivid commentary on class, privilege, and ultimately deceit.
November 17, 2021
Couldn't get my head around this book. The author says it's a work of fiction and that he didn't research the infamous case it's loosely based on and any similarities are incidental etc etc. But then you learn he went to the same university at the same time as the co-accuseds and possibly knew them and the victim.
You're left wondering if what you're reading is fact, fiction or a combination of both, and whether these characters are based on real life people. The book itself is very well written and paints a vivid picture of the upper classes of Dublin, but the style is problematic. Perhaps it would have worked better if the author had committed to writing about the case rather than around it.
You're left wondering if what you're reading is fact, fiction or a combination of both, and whether these characters are based on real life people. The book itself is very well written and paints a vivid picture of the upper classes of Dublin, but the style is problematic. Perhaps it would have worked better if the author had committed to writing about the case rather than around it.
July 1, 2023
When I was in Ireland, I bought only books by Irish writerS. Bad Day in Black Rock by Kevin Power is a dark story about complicity and silence and what it means to take responsibility for our misguided actions. It’s at once compelling and unsettling.
November 7, 2016
This is the book that became the movie 'What Richard Saw'. A great insight into southside Dublin and its private school culture. Essential reading for any northsider or culchie!
April 29, 2018
A powerful book, based on a true life incident. Didn't realise until the end it was actually told by a brother of one of the accused. It makes you wonder about who think what's important.
February 27, 2020
I thought this was a great and unique contemporary work. The use of first person for a narrator we learn so little of is an interesting authorial choice that I thought paid of well.
April 23, 2023
It's something on the way he writes that gave me the feeling that he was across the table telling me the story! A novel about privileges...
Read
December 13, 2024Mi sto annoiando, come al solito. Magari lo riprenderò in un'altra vita
March 5, 2025
Mildly interesting - adds fictional depth to original story in attempt to make it more interesting but fiction parts are just a bit weird. Still quite readable/mildly interesting but lacks quality
September 3, 2020
What I found striking about this is that it preceded all the terrible guilty tv pleasures such as Made In Chelsea and nothing amongst the aristocracy has changed in the intervening years. They still take their privilege for granted, misogyny runs high and still there’s no consideration for the human toll on putting men on a rugby field and expecting them to act one way and then in a completely different way outside of the rugby pitch. This was an interesting social commentary, not least because the identity of the narrator was kept secret until the end. I liked the twist; although it was ruined by reading other reviews before I’d reached that point. The narrator was within that circle and ‘one of them’. Even ties to the victim couldn’t separate his worldview from those around him. And yes, they really were that shallow and orange and vacuous.
Interestingly I cannot recall my reaction to the real life event even though I was in the same university at the same time. I’m not sure why. It possibly set in motion my inflexible hatred of when sportspeople get away with rape, even though this wasn’t a rape.
Much was made of the opportunism of seizing upon this story. I don’t believe this to be true mostly because the defendants were relatively unrecognisable from their descriptions and were passable stock characters of that elk. He never tried to put words or actions into the character of the deceased or malign the memory in that way. It was a useful exercise in pulling at a thread of a certain part of society at a certain time and seeing where it went. It also goes some way to explain classism and systemic failures from the rugby pitch all the way up to the justice system, which is, and always has been, more about who can buy the best deal rather than true accountability. This is just a way to sigh at humanity. There was also a touch of misogyny in the narrator’s voice-whether that was deliberate or unconscious, another thing to add to the we don’t knows surrounding this incident.
It stays with you afterwards which is always a good sign as it was a particularly vivid retelling and chance for readers familiar and unfamiliar with the Annabel’s case to reminisce about something I seem to have developed a catastrophic forgetting about.
...
And as though to further highlight how small Ireland is and how all these college hacks end up in all the top jobs, I’ve just been texted by a friend to say the new minister for agriculture is someone we once pissed off. Again I have no memory of how exactly. I would have been wasted in a private school, burning bridges left right and centre instead of networking and making valuable contacts. But also I haven’t been left for dead outside a nightclub so win win.
Interestingly I cannot recall my reaction to the real life event even though I was in the same university at the same time. I’m not sure why. It possibly set in motion my inflexible hatred of when sportspeople get away with rape, even though this wasn’t a rape.
Much was made of the opportunism of seizing upon this story. I don’t believe this to be true mostly because the defendants were relatively unrecognisable from their descriptions and were passable stock characters of that elk. He never tried to put words or actions into the character of the deceased or malign the memory in that way. It was a useful exercise in pulling at a thread of a certain part of society at a certain time and seeing where it went. It also goes some way to explain classism and systemic failures from the rugby pitch all the way up to the justice system, which is, and always has been, more about who can buy the best deal rather than true accountability. This is just a way to sigh at humanity. There was also a touch of misogyny in the narrator’s voice-whether that was deliberate or unconscious, another thing to add to the we don’t knows surrounding this incident.
It stays with you afterwards which is always a good sign as it was a particularly vivid retelling and chance for readers familiar and unfamiliar with the Annabel’s case to reminisce about something I seem to have developed a catastrophic forgetting about.
...
And as though to further highlight how small Ireland is and how all these college hacks end up in all the top jobs, I’ve just been texted by a friend to say the new minister for agriculture is someone we once pissed off. Again I have no memory of how exactly. I would have been wasted in a private school, burning bridges left right and centre instead of networking and making valuable contacts. But also I haven’t been left for dead outside a nightclub so win win.
October 5, 2010
Příběh v knize, inspirovaný skutečnou událostí, vypráví o smrti jednoho ze studentů z prestižní školy v Dublinu. Byl zavražděn třemi kopy do hlavy. Třemi kopy vedenými třemi jinými studenty z téže školy. Všichni z bohatých rodin, všichni v té chvíli opití.
Kniha je ukázkou života dublinské mládeže „z lepší společnosti“, která má na starosti akorát chlastání, píchání a kupování luxusních věcí. Při jedné z mnoha pijatik se věci zvrtnou a jeden ze studentů je ukopán k smrti.
Jak vyprávění postupuje, dozvídáme se mnoho podrobností z minulosti nejen oběti, ale i útočníků. Vypravěč se snaží najít důvod, proč k vraždě vlastně došlo a co se toho večera všechno stalo. Zda se k nějakému závěru opravdu dostane, je spíše na čtenářově posouzení.
Celý text je protkán jistou beznadějí a tou to i končí. Život (tedy ne všech zúčastněných) jde dál v zaběhnutých kolejích a lidé se chovají, jako by se vlastně nic nestalo.
Autor za svou prvotinu získal Rooneyho cenu za irskou literaturu a dostal se do užšího výběru Irish Book Awards.
Krátká ukázka (tak příšerný překlad je moje práce, kniha v češtině dosud nevyšla):
Do této chvíle Stephen téměř dopil celou basu Stelly a půlku lahve vodky. Clodagh měla za sebou několik lahví limonády s alkoholem. Nakonec zašeptala Stephenovi do ucha: „Tak mě už konečně přefikneš?“
Hledali volný pokoj, ale žádný nenašli. A obě koupelny byly již obsazené. Stephen nakonec našel zamčené dveře na konci chodby a ramenem je vyrazil. Poté se s Clodagh vyspal v posteli Barryho otce.
Mezitím se Barry v kuchyni rozhlížel kolem sebe a zeptal se: „Kde je Stephen a Clodagh?“ Znovu se rozhlížel. Pak vlítnul do otcovy ložnice. „Co to má kurva znamenat?“ zařval. „Žádal jsem tě o jednu jedinou věc, Steve. Jednu jedinou zasranou věc!“
Kniha je ukázkou života dublinské mládeže „z lepší společnosti“, která má na starosti akorát chlastání, píchání a kupování luxusních věcí. Při jedné z mnoha pijatik se věci zvrtnou a jeden ze studentů je ukopán k smrti.
Jak vyprávění postupuje, dozvídáme se mnoho podrobností z minulosti nejen oběti, ale i útočníků. Vypravěč se snaží najít důvod, proč k vraždě vlastně došlo a co se toho večera všechno stalo. Zda se k nějakému závěru opravdu dostane, je spíše na čtenářově posouzení.
Celý text je protkán jistou beznadějí a tou to i končí. Život (tedy ne všech zúčastněných) jde dál v zaběhnutých kolejích a lidé se chovají, jako by se vlastně nic nestalo.
Autor za svou prvotinu získal Rooneyho cenu za irskou literaturu a dostal se do užšího výběru Irish Book Awards.
Krátká ukázka (tak příšerný překlad je moje práce, kniha v češtině dosud nevyšla):
Do této chvíle Stephen téměř dopil celou basu Stelly a půlku lahve vodky. Clodagh měla za sebou několik lahví limonády s alkoholem. Nakonec zašeptala Stephenovi do ucha: „Tak mě už konečně přefikneš?“
Hledali volný pokoj, ale žádný nenašli. A obě koupelny byly již obsazené. Stephen nakonec našel zamčené dveře na konci chodby a ramenem je vyrazil. Poté se s Clodagh vyspal v posteli Barryho otce.
Mezitím se Barry v kuchyni rozhlížel kolem sebe a zeptal se: „Kde je Stephen a Clodagh?“ Znovu se rozhlížel. Pak vlítnul do otcovy ložnice. „Co to má kurva znamenat?“ zařval. „Žádal jsem tě o jednu jedinou věc, Steve. Jednu jedinou zasranou věc!“
March 2, 2011
Richard, Barry und Stephen sind Studenten eines Colleges in Dublin, gehören zur traditionsreichen und finanziell besser gestellten Oberschicht, spielen Rugby und trinken gern mal einen. Am 31. August feiern und zechen sie genauso wie Conor, ebenfalls Rugbyspieler vom College, den sie noch aus ihrer Kindheit kennen, in einem Pub. Als dieser schliesst, geschieht das Unfassbare. Die drei sowie noch einige weitere Jungs prügeln auf Conor ein und treten ihn, als er reglos am Boden liegt. Später im Krankenhaus stirbt er.
Anders als andere Romane stellt “Die letzte Nacht des Sommers” gleich zu Beginn klar, was passiert ist, wer getötet wurde und von wem. Inhalt des Romandebüts von Kevin Power ist, wie es dazu kam, in welchen sozialen Gefügen Täter und Opfer aufwuchsen, welche Rolle Traditionen ihrer Herkunft, Eltern, Schule spielten. Dies baut eine ungeahnte Spannung auf, man liest wie in einem Tatsachenbericht, der voller Mitgefühl ist und dennoch eine gewisse – auch nötige – Distanz bietet. Fassungslos verfolgt man die Untersuchung des Falls, die Gerichtsverhandlung und wie die Familien sowohl des mutmasslichen Haupttäters als auch des Opfers damit umgingen.
“Die letzte Nacht des Sommers” basiert auf einer wahren Geschichte, daher sorgte der Roman bei seinem Erscheinen in Irland für ordentlichen Wirbel. Kevin Power setzte das Thema fesselnd, aber keineswegs reißerisch um und schuf damit ein außergewöhnliches, sehr empfehlenswertes Buch.
Anders als andere Romane stellt “Die letzte Nacht des Sommers” gleich zu Beginn klar, was passiert ist, wer getötet wurde und von wem. Inhalt des Romandebüts von Kevin Power ist, wie es dazu kam, in welchen sozialen Gefügen Täter und Opfer aufwuchsen, welche Rolle Traditionen ihrer Herkunft, Eltern, Schule spielten. Dies baut eine ungeahnte Spannung auf, man liest wie in einem Tatsachenbericht, der voller Mitgefühl ist und dennoch eine gewisse – auch nötige – Distanz bietet. Fassungslos verfolgt man die Untersuchung des Falls, die Gerichtsverhandlung und wie die Familien sowohl des mutmasslichen Haupttäters als auch des Opfers damit umgingen.
“Die letzte Nacht des Sommers” basiert auf einer wahren Geschichte, daher sorgte der Roman bei seinem Erscheinen in Irland für ordentlichen Wirbel. Kevin Power setzte das Thema fesselnd, aber keineswegs reißerisch um und schuf damit ein außergewöhnliches, sehr empfehlenswertes Buch.
August 20, 2019
I just reread this book with my son Luke as I loved it so much and I wanted to share it with him as it's about young men and set in Dublin where I grew up. I can't believe I had not reviews this book first time around as I found it very moving, gripping and a fantastic portrait of the snobbery of south County Dublin. The book is loosely based a true story of private school rugby lads who 'got away' with murder through their connections and class, but this book shows that nobody gets away with it and that everybody's lives are ruined because of the final kick, and that wealth cannot insulate you from your conscience . The narrator meticulously explores all the characters involved, their relationships with each other, their parents, their back stories, artfully weaving this in with the event itself and it's aftermath but he does not go for lazy, easy answers, nor does he blame - The book is full of humanity but does unmask how unconscious class attitudes can lead to 'othering' and that this can be fatal. My son really enjoyed the book which we read while in Dublin, and I hope he has learned the lesson of what drunken macho behaviour can lead to . Reread July 2019
February 21, 2017
Bad Day in Blackrock tells the story of a young man kicked to death in a fight outside a Dublin nightclub. Power's narrator recounts these events and their aftermath from the viewpoints of the different players in the tragedy. Those involved in the fracas, their friends, the families of the victims and those of the accused all share the spotlight. Power is not judgmental; none of his characters are out-and-out villains, and few are blameless, either.
The book is a cold, hard look at privilege and the old school tie, and what happens when the people who have always benefited from that system find themselves facing the grim reality of the police, the law courts and social ostracism. It also explores the complex gradations of privileged society, where some are more equal than others, but few can really explain why.
This is a taut, beautifully-written crime novel where Power unfolds the details in his plot by examining his characters' actions, rather than having some kind of investigator character uncover it for us. A terrific read.
The book is a cold, hard look at privilege and the old school tie, and what happens when the people who have always benefited from that system find themselves facing the grim reality of the police, the law courts and social ostracism. It also explores the complex gradations of privileged society, where some are more equal than others, but few can really explain why.
This is a taut, beautifully-written crime novel where Power unfolds the details in his plot by examining his characters' actions, rather than having some kind of investigator character uncover it for us. A terrific read.
August 6, 2016
It's an incisive dissection of the 'privileged' young Irish adult. I note that many have said that it is non-judgemental which is nonsense. Although written in a spare, lean style and his language avoids tagging his characters with judgemental adverbs or adjectives, his disdain and anger at these 'goys' and girls is palpable. He very effectively undermines a culture that is at the heart of the Irish legal and banking system. The old school tie mentality is exposed for what it is and the 'rugger bugger' culture of so many young males is expertly portrayed.
The 'goys' enjoy their association with Ross O'Carroll Kelly and quite happily chortle about it but I would imagine that they wouldn't enjoy the manure that is expertly heaped on them here.
It's depressing to realise that nearly 10 years later and very little has changed. Think of David Drumm and the boys and their 'my balls are bigger than yours' phone calls in Anglo Irish Bank.
The 'goys' enjoy their association with Ross O'Carroll Kelly and quite happily chortle about it but I would imagine that they wouldn't enjoy the manure that is expertly heaped on them here.
It's depressing to realise that nearly 10 years later and very little has changed. Think of David Drumm and the boys and their 'my balls are bigger than yours' phone calls in Anglo Irish Bank.
January 30, 2016
A fictionalised telling of events similar to a news story that unfolded in the days of the Celtic Tiger. A young man was kicked and beaten to death in the early hours of the morning outside a Dublin nightclub. What made this drunken fracas different from the routine drunken attacks of a Dublin weekend were two things: the three primary suspects were the children of some of Ireland's weathliest and most well-connected citizens, and a code of silence descended among the some-two-dozen witnesses shielding the suspects for weeks.
A contemporary of the four boys narrates the story, imperfectly by his own admission. Rebelling against the code of silence, he opines about how private schooling, rugby culture and D4 parenting contributed to the attitudes and perspectives of all four protagonists. A difficult read into events that feel both familiar and hidden.
A contemporary of the four boys narrates the story, imperfectly by his own admission. Rebelling against the code of silence, he opines about how private schooling, rugby culture and D4 parenting contributed to the attitudes and perspectives of all four protagonists. A difficult read into events that feel both familiar and hidden.
March 25, 2015
Have to admit i was quite confused about midway when i realised i had no idea who the person was who was narrating this story, thought i might have missed it from the start, but all becomes clear by the end. Wasn't quite sure what to expect from this one, it follows from the death of a young man in an altercation outside a nightclub. Why did the fight take place, who exactly was involved, what happens next? It explores the privilege lives of the moneyed elite of South Dublin.
It was a bit short, and i had hoped for more from the trial side of it. But as the story reveals, the narrator can only tell you so much, they explain their reasons for this, but it was interesting reading more about how the other half live, and the effects such a thing can have even on them.
It was a bit short, and i had hoped for more from the trial side of it. But as the story reveals, the narrator can only tell you so much, they explain their reasons for this, but it was interesting reading more about how the other half live, and the effects such a thing can have even on them.
December 19, 2014
I remember when this "incident" took place in Dublin. I also remember the rather biased reporting and the subsequent down-playing of the actions of the main perpetrators of the horrific killing of a young man. This book truly captures the flavour of the time and the way in which a group of well-to-do people in South Dublin formed a protective ring around themselves to a disgraceful degree. Personally, I think this is well worth a read, particularly for someone who, like me, grew up in South Dublin and experienced and knew the kind of pretentious, self-serving attitudes of some of these people in that era.
August 30, 2015
This book was so, so depressing. If I had known how depressing it was going to be, I wouldn't have read it. Powerful story, though, and interesting.
Through the whole book, I was wondering who the narrator was. Who was telling the story? How did they know so much about this case, and why were they leaving themselves out of the story. Then, when he reveals it near the end, it just makes the story that much more sad. It made me want to go back and read it again, now that I know WHO is telling the story, but I just can't, it's too depressing...
Through the whole book, I was wondering who the narrator was. Who was telling the story? How did they know so much about this case, and why were they leaving themselves out of the story. Then, when he reveals it near the end, it just makes the story that much more sad. It made me want to go back and read it again, now that I know WHO is telling the story, but I just can't, it's too depressing...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews