A statement on my having left Unbound/Boundless.

McCabe's language hits a rare pitch: it's a mongrel form of modernism, a sui generis mash-up of B movies and forgotten pop songs, poems and folk tunes, the ghosts of Joyce, Larkin, Hopkins and Kavanagh sharing pints with Eric Morecambe, Arthur Mullard and Phil Silvers. His late style - a wonder.

The jaunty tone gives way to a darker mood as abduction, torture, bombings ensue. GOLDENGROVE is McCabe's most political novel. The troubled relationship between Britain and Ireland, - two countries divided by a violent common history – is its deep theme.

The two clubbable Englishmen at its heart turn out to be agents of the British state, sent to infiltrate the IRA. The vibe darkens...

It's a comedy with a heart that's blacker than obsidian. Late sixties Dublin. A theatrical agency. A bar called Minty's. Heavy drinking, smoking and thespian excess of all kinds abound.

With the excellent @oliverbullough.bsky.social