The Good Son Paul McVeigh Catherine Greene
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Ardmag book Club
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Mickey Donnelly is a 10-year-old boy living in the Ardoyne area of Belfast at the height of the Troubles. The Good Son spans a difficult summer where he dreads starting secondary school in the autumn, he’s terrified at the prospect of having to go to brutal St Gabriel’s school because his mother can’t afford to send him to the more civilised St Malachy’s Grammar School. Mickey’s a smart, sensitive child, the kind of boy who doesn’t fare well in a macho environment. Other kids call him gay because he’s more comfortable playing with girls and his only real friend is his little sister Wee Maggie. In the absence of any decent male role models – Mickey’s dad is an abusive alcoholic who only returns to the family home whenever he needs money – he learns about life through film and TV. It also allows him an escape from the veritable war zone of his surroundings. He lives in his head and dreams of someday going to America to make his fortune like his heroes. For me, The Good Son isn’t about the Troubles, rather, it’s about a little boy who loves his mummy, his little sister and his dog who will take on anyone that threatens or hurts those he loves, no matter how big or scary from his older brother, his Dad, other kids, the IRA. He fights the despair, the bleakness, and the violence. He fights the Troubles. And after you read you will know Mickey Donnelly is just the one for the job.
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