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Pat Coyne is a sad bastard indeed. Fortunately, he's seeing a therapist, not that it's
particularly helping him. Injured in the line of duty as a Garda in Dublin, he has been
off work for five months as the novel opens. The physical scars have mostly healed, but
he's still battling some serious psychological defects, some of which even may have
predated the fire that took him off the job. Being returned to bachelorhood recently has
not improved his attitude either.
When his son Jimmy, prone to criminal mischief, becomes the main target of a murder
investigation, Coyne bristles with fatherly indignation and channels some of his abundant
energy to help clear Jimmy's name. With his father thus engaged, Jimmy distracts himself
by falling head over heels for a woman nearly twice his age. Totally involved in his
pursuit of Nurse Boland, Jimmy doesn't notice the threat that is getting ever closer to
him. Meanwhile, Coyne has his hands full. When he's not actively working on Jimmy's
defense, he's hounding his ex-wife, mistaking her every look and word as an invitation to
return home. He never seems to believe she's left him forever. Between his endeavors to
regain his wife's love and his efforts at keeping his son alive and out of jail, Coyne
amuses himself by terrorizing an old bank manager who he perceives ruined his life. His
affections are misplaced, his anger is out of all proportion, but all in all he has a good
heart.
A central gathering spot, The Anchor Bar, brings the characters in contact not only with
each other, but with their deepest thoughts and feelings. This pub contains a subculture
of regular patrons, each with his own downtrodden reason for being there. For Coyne, it
affords him a venue to spout his philosophies on the decline of humanity in general and
the "new Ireland" specifically, and he takes every opportunity to do so.
Hugo Hamilton has created an incongruous hero in Pat Coyne. At the very moment you despise
him for his actions, you admire him for his convictions. His sense of the absurd sets you
chuckling even when you know it's inappropriate. You'll find yourself wrinkling up your
nose in distaste at his eccentricities, but I guarantee you'll be nodding in agreement at
some point, despite your best efforts to condemn most of what he does.
SAD BASTARD is a melancholy look at dark Irish humor. The characters are impish and
violent, naive and gentle, political and worldly, and entirely unique. Pat Coyne will be
back, mark my words, and you'll be clambering to read his next hilariously sad adventure.
--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers (kateayersis@home.com)
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