A Son Called Gabriel [Hardcover]

Written as a series of vignettes, each chapter paints a portrait of Gabriel's troubled life. Gabriel is taunted and teased by schoolyard bullies, he plays in the "muck" with the senior girls rather than playing football with the boys, he brushes the hair of his sister's dolls, and he gets his first look at a dirty magazine. Later in the story, we witness his anxious ridden preparations for his O level examinations, and his guilty shame about his dalliances with other boys. Aware of his sensitivity at a young age, Gabriel struggles to please his devout Catholic mother, and working class father, while dealing with over-zealous aunties, and competitive cousins.

When older, Gabriel is sent to Saint Malachy, and Irish Catholic School for boys - where boys are expected to be tough, assertive, and where any feminine qualities are an inexcusable sign of weakness. This coincides with Gabriel's teenage years, and his inevitable attraction to men. His guilt-ridden angst becomes more intense, and McNicholl does a great job of conveying the psyche of a tortured, tormented, and conflicted boy. When Gabriel commits the "abomination" - furtive couplings and fumbling with schoolmates - he loathes himself afterwards because he's actually enjoyed it. Torn between his rigid catholic upbringing, and his desire to physically and emotionally be with boys, Gabriel spends many a day churning over his feelings, remaining frustrated and confused. He's wracked with denial, and has days "when doubt as dark as winter nights falls upon his shoulders," he feasts on doubt and intelligence, "and it fills him with an angst, that it had all been a fluke."

McNicholl is a blunt, gutsy writer, with a gift for rough humour. He lovingly peoples his Irish landscape of farms and homes with oddballs, eccentrics, and bawdy children. And Gabriel's observations and digressions on his friends and family are lively and vivid, which makes for incredibly funny and heartfelt reading. The action is constantly seen through Gabriel's eyes, and his insights into the sometimes-confusing adult world around him spark the novel. At times, there are so many aunts, uncles, cousins, and schoolmates, that it's hard for the reader to keep track of them all, and without a focused storyline, the narrative does tend to wander. Some readers may also find that the deep secret revealed at the end of the book is a little contrived, because it takes the focus away from the issue of Gabriel's acceptance of his homosexuality. The dreaded secret doesn't actually accomplish much in terms of closure or character development. But the dry-eyed, earnest and sincere exchanges throughout the story do give the novel an honesty and credibility that makes A Son Called Gabriel an artfully defiant work of fiction. Mike Leonard June 04.

Damian McNicholl's A Son Called Gabriel is a witty, touching and soulful account of one boy's journey toward manhood. It is a riveting book peopled with memorable characters such as loving Granny who pees every day in the rhubarb patch, then wonders why Gabriel always refuses to eat her rhubarb pie. And hard-edged Father, with his oil stained hands and disdain for Gabriel's gentle ways. And the savage Henry, one of many merciless bullies Gabriel must cope with. And Uncle Brendan, a kind priest Gabriel admires even though he knows the family has been hurt and shamed by something his uncle has done in the past, something nobody will discuss. While Gabriel's home is always crowded with relatives and friends, Gabriel finds he must fight his battles alone, especially his ultimate battle with himself. Uncontrollable urges terrify him. What if he were homosexual? A growing dread fills him, for doesn't the Catholic Church condemn gays to hell?

Readers will long to put an arm around Gabriel's shoulders as he fights for the love and peace that his troubled soul so richly deserves and for the realization that he is, in fact a good Irish Catholic boy. A Son Called Gabriel is simply unforgettable.