Drinking pals back in their Dublin days, Davy rarely sees Joe for a pint anymore – maybe one or two when Davy’s over from England to check in on his elderly father. But tonight, one pint will turn to three, and then five as Joe recounts a secret, leading the two men on a bender back to the haunts of their youth. Joe has left his wife and family for another woman, Jessica. Davy knows her too, or he should – she was the girl of their dreams all those years ago, the girl with the cello in George’s Pub. As Joe’s story unfolds across Dublin – pub after pub – so too do the memories of what eventually drove Davy from Ireland: his first meeting with Faye, the woman that would become his wife; his father’s sombre disapproval; the pained spaces left behind when a parent dies.

Author Roddy Doyle Published by Jonathan Cape ISBN 9781787332270 EAN 9781787332270 Bic Code Cover Hardback