Last Days in Cleaver Square

Overlap with the previous work in the sense that metaphorical ghosts feature in both. McGrath has always been preoccupied by the Gothic and the macabre, as well as the impact on the psyche of incipient (and often self-inflicted) madness too. All the above feature amply in Last Days in Cleaver Square. The novel shows McGrath at his best; a work that draws the initially sceptical reader increasingly into alignment with a sympathy for the narrator, while he is both old and cantankerous. The deftness of McGrath's writing allows for an acceptance of his unreliability in narration. Self-deception and betrayal — the consequences of action past — feature strongly. Although death is an inevitable preoccupation, Last Days in Cleaver Square is relieved through its well-placed humour. The (literal) defiling of Franco's legacy is a superb piece of levity in this work. Great pacing and testament to McGrath to fit so much into a short work: eight and a half out of ten.

By Patrick McGrath