The Prince

The novel revolves around the likeable character of teenage wimp Billy Sykes whose vision of modern Ireland is coloured by his dysfunctional adoptive family, his legendary half-brother Herbert and a cast of friends and foes who slip in and out of allegory, not to mention life and death, with the ease of champion figure skaters. Psychedelia grounded in street dialogue is at least as good a tag as surrealism:Billy lives in a waking nightmare much of the time, but the reader gets an ongoing chance to feel clever at allusion-spotting, as Holy and Unholy trinity swap sides with alarming frequency.There are several contenders for the role of The Prince himself. Wholly herself,however,is Billy's hefty and horrible cousin Agnes,sociopath par excellence: the sort of girl who would pull the legs of horses, cackling the while and a truly remarkable comic creation.