One-of-a-kind. McCormack is a wonderfully accessible, quick-witted writer—and, with references to Radiohead, Mad Max, and the post-millennial Battlestar Galactica, a smartly contemporary one. The book is alive with startling connections between the exterior and interior worlds. . . an irresistible driving rhythm. It’s a book that demands a second reading and readings of the author’s other books. . . This transcendent novel should expand McCormack’s following on this side of the Atlantic and further establish him as a heavyweight of contemporary Irish fiction along with the likes of Anne Enright and Kevin Barry.