Set against World War II, this is a tragi-comic tale of an Englishman who tries to start a potato farm in rural Ireland, and is mistaken for a hero by the locals - with bizarre consequences, escalating to accidental death, suicide, and murder.
Patrick McGinley (1937 - present) is an Irish novelist, born in Glencolumbkille, Ireland. After teaching in Ireland, McGinley moved to England where he pursued a career as a publisher and author. His strongest literary influence is his Irish predecessor; author Flann O'Brien, who McGinley emulates most noticeably in his novel
The Devil's Diary. McGinley is the author of eight novels including:
Goosefoot(1983)
Foggage(1983)
The Trick of the Ga Bolga(1986) and most recently
The Lost Soldier's Song(1994).
It's P.G.Wodehouse meets Carl Jung with knives drawn.