IT S 1968 and Paddy Clarke is 10 years old. He lives in Barrytown in the Republic of Ireland. He loves George Best and Manchester United, playing grand national across the neighbours hedges, robbing from the local shops – Football Monthly is four million

IT'S 1968 and Paddy Clarke is 10 years old. He lives in Barrytown in the Republic of Ireland. He loves George Best and Manchester United, playing grand national across the neighbours' hedges, robbing from the local shops - Football Monthly is four million years in Purgatory, but a good confession before you die can get you off the hook - and Geronimo. He wants to be a missionary like Father Damien and gets his friends to play lepers. He hates girls, the boys from the new Corporation houses and his younger brother. And he lays awake at nights hoping his ma and da won't argue.

Boys of that age can be cruel. Teasing, bullying and fights are part of everyday life and the author paints a picture of childhood that most people can relate to in some way.

This is the world seen through the eyes of a young boy in a series of short narratives written in the first person. As with Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy, the book is witty, down to earth, poignant and wonderfully observed.

Thanks to Waterstones of Hitchin 4/5