«The Companion» by Lorcan Roche

Lorcan Roche is a fresh and vivid voice in new Irish fiction. I love the energy of his writing and its passionate engagement with the world. He is a gifted and clever storyteller.' – Joseph O'Connor ' …brilliantly achieved…Roche handles his materials well, never losing control over his narrative, keeping his reader's attention throughout.' – Derek Hand, The Irish Times ' Essential reading for our times. Get a drink of something strong, grab a Velvet Underground album (preferably on vinyl), play it high, read aloud.' – Tom Galvin, The Evening Herald ' a terrifically accomplished first novel which never flags…manages to keep the reader continually off balance.' – Hugh Bonar, The Irish Mail on Sunday ' masterfully written, and truly wickedly funny.' – Joe Jackson, Sunday Independent ' psychologically complex, beautifully written, a splendid read. Buy it, read it and enjoy it.' – Derek Davis, Today, RTE ' a highly original debut novel ' – Rowena Martin, The Irish Independent Trevor, a film-school dropout from Dublin, signs on as companion to Ed, a rich, wheelchair-bound New Yorker. A bizarre, mutual-dependency pact is ignited and an odyssey into the mind of an off-kilter, rambunctious Irishman begins. The Companion tells a story of obsession and control in which the dynamics of love and patience are tested to breaking point and beyond. Upbeat, defiant, dark and morally ambiguous, it sifts through family secrets and lies, and discloses the survival codes of Manhattan. This Irish take on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest develops into one of those rare, perversely elegiac novels that lodge in the mind. Long after the last page has been turned.