THE BACKSLIDER

- “A demanding and hugely enjoyable novel” – Roddy Doyle

First novel Set in Belfast in the 1970s, THE BACKSLIDER is told from the voice of 16-year old Marius Moonston. Marius has stolen money from his sister's purse and sets out to buy what he most desires: an all-white football costume. The duration of the novel is the day he spends in this quest, traveling the dangerous streets with a young friend, knowing that he will return home to certain punishment. The quest becomes a philosophical one: the hero is obsessed not only with the theological rhetoric of Catholic/Protestant conflict, but existential moral philosophy. In spite of all this, the novel is very funny - both in the high-energy adolescent humor, and in the intelligent word play that so characterizes Irish writing. Seán McGrady is a former university lecturer in philosophy. He was raised in Belfast, first as a Catholic, then as an Evangelical Protestant - his escape from all of that confusion was through philosophy.