In 1983 Dublin, nineteen-year old Patrick Scully works as a security guard in a jewelry store. Through his roommate, college student Xavier "Balls" O'Reilly, Patrick meets another student Francesca Kelly. While Patrick thinks Francesca is his girlfriend, her diary entries suggest otherwise sating she loves Balls.
Francesca returns to her hometown to visit her mother. Balls and Patrick also go home to their village. Though he believes overall that he is an honorable and … mehrfaithful person, Patrick picks up a girl at the local pub and shares sex. He desperately tries to bury his guilty feelings involving what he has done to Francesca. All Patrick wanted was his relationship with to continue, while the growing more independent woman wanted to end it.
KNICK KNACK PADDY WHACK is an interesting characters-driven look at a young adult trying to grasp onto anything that will stop him from drowning in society's hypocrisy. The plot is clearly Patrick's tale even though the absence of Francesca adds to the excitement. Patrick uses humor to defuse his growing dark feelings and to survive in a world that he loathes. Ardal O'Hanlon scores with his debut novel that focuses on the dichotomy of feelings and disenchantment that late teens feel as they step into the realm of adulthood. weniger