Back to the ould sod

THE Stray Sod Country is a metaphor, a fable which the characters of Patrick McCabe’s new novel continually fall back on. It describes being lost in what were once reassuring surroundings, being intimidated or deceived by the very things that used to make you feel secure. It is a way of explaining things, “frightening emotions, things like depression or extreme loneliness”.

As such, the novel serves to tie up the small-town and supernatural elements of McCabe’s recent fiction, which may not be a bad thing as, in places, The Stray Sod Country feels like McCabe-by-numbers.

In particular, the stage Irishness and gombeen quality of the characters is disappointing from a writer of his calibre.