John the Revelator

Irish teen John Devine is stuck with the nickname "John the Revelator" by his chain-smoking, Bible-quoting single mother, Lily. Narrator Gerald Doyle reproduces the languid and leisurely tone of the story as John matures, but he quickens his pace when the eccentric Jamey Corboy moves to town. The friendship opens John's mind to a world of mischief and discovery. Doyle uses a lilting Irish accent that lulls the listener into quiet enjoyment until cold reality forces young John into a moral quandary. Celebrated by critics as a new member of the club of great novels that portray young friendships--such as A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY and A SEPARATE PEACE--this novel spotlights a great storyteller and a talented narrator. R.O. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Starred review from May 11, 2009
In the hallowed pantheon of Irish coming-of-age novels, Murphy's strongly written debut splits the difference between the sensitivity of Portrait of an Artist
and the freakishness of Butcher Boy
. John Devine lives a marginal life with his single mother in the small Irish town of Kilcody. He has a love for the lore of creepy-crawly things (thanks to his favorite book, Harper's Compendium of Bizarre Nature Facts
). His mother, a maid for the rich folks in the area, is versed in Irish myth, which gives him an enchanted, slightly sinister sense of the world. As a teenager, John befriends the posh James Corboy, who fancies himself quite the young Rimbaud. Two events define John's coming into manhood: one involves James, a video camera and a drunken rampage; the other, John's mother, who is dying and whose weakness necessitates the frequent assistance of nosy neighbor Mrs. Nagle. Murphy understands the gracelessness of teenage boys and that peculiar delinquent wisdom shared by all the great coming-of-age novelists. With this novel, he doesn't have to bow to any of them.