'This isn't the Cork of Frank O'Connor, it's a bit more garage forecourt-ish'
Danny Denton has just published his new novel, All Along The Echo. Picture: Monika Gorka
A simple question for Cork author Danny Denton that causes him a bit of bother. How would he describe his second novel, All Along the Echo? “It is a novel in radio," he eventually declares. "Part of the medium of the novel is a phone-in radio show, and through that people are talking and telling their stories and figuring out who they are. And at the same time, the characters who are involved in the radio station - some who phone into the radio station - you get to look at who they are as well. That's about as close as I can get to figuring out what's going on on the pages.”
It’s a good attempt at describing the followup to his 2018 debut, The Earlie King & the Kid in Yellow. All Along the Echo is odd, overflowing with ideas and storylines that take a while to reveal themselves as we get the machinations of its protagonists. Tony is host of Cork phone-in radio show Talk to Tony, while his producer is Lou. It's also rewarding, with laugh-out-loud parts sitting easily with poignant moments. With snippets of Tony’s interactions with his listeners throughout, it’s almost like a love letter to the medium of radio.
