This is the first book of Belfast born Brian Moore's that I've read and I can now see that I have some great reading ahead of me. He seems to have written nearly 30 novels over a time span that begins when I was born. This book appealed to me in a number of ways. I always like books about relationships - especially partner relationships and parent-child relationships - because I am both a parent and a partner. The Irish Catholic background of the main characters interests me - although I'm not entirely sure why! I think it might be that pervasive underlying sense of morality that seems to be taken for granted in that country. I love the Irish accent too, and I can hear it in Moore's characters (just as I hear it in my daily routine, usually from young Irish women backpackers who are doing traffic management for night time road works when I run through!). This book, however, is placed mostly in New York City, a location which fascinates me, especially since my own daughter moved to New York state. The story is, on the surface, about a man who wants to feel that he is a real writer, and becomes almost completely obsessed with this goal to the extent of losing his relationships. There's a definite comparison being made between America and Ireland, seen from different people's perspectives. I very much liked the way Moore moves the focus between the three main characters, allowing readers to really see the situation as each person does. I see that my local library has NONE of Moore's books (and he was short-listed for the Booker Prize three times!!), so it looks like the second-hand bookshops of the world will be benefiting from my new discovery. ( )