Family fortunes

Besotted

It begins when 16-year-old twins, Michael and Kieran, visit the Cork home of their Irish grandparents with their family for the summer holidays. They have just completed their ‘O’ Level exams in England. The results, when they arrive, are expected: Kieran has excelled in every subject while Michael has disgraced himself by failing all but one — art.

But more than the apprehension of his parents’ disappointment and wrath is Michael’s bleak realisation that he will not be going back to school. This means he will no longer have the opportunity to run into Salema, an exotic half-Indian girl. So far, he has failed to ask her out on a date, due to nerves. He finds solace with the forward Peggy O’Connor, a frisky local girl who invites him to a disco. He also meets Peggy’s cousin, Fergal Noonan, a young priest in training, who witnesses them necking in the graveyard. Many years later, he receives a long and enlightening letter from Fergal, who was present when significant events took place.