Publisher: O'Brien Press
Source: Borrowed from library (Goodreads)
Blurb:
Meet Neil Byrne - try-scorer on the rugby field, prizewinning student, one of the in-crowd at the disco, regular guy, gay. Presenting one face to the world and burying his true feelings in fantasy, Neil manages to keep his secret. But when fantasy isn't enough and he becomes caught up in the bizarre subculture of Dublin's gay nightlife, the pretence must end. It is the time for truth. The consequences are both hilarious and painful. Told with honesty, humour and originality, WHEN LOVE COMES TO TOWN brings a new type of hero to modern Irish fiction.
This book was a quick but memorable read for me. I read it over the course of a weekend and enjoyed the characters, the storyline and how while it was definitely "of its time" it still felt relatable to today.
The book centers around our main character who is hiding his sexuality while finishing secondary school in Ireland. Pressures are building on him from hiding his feelings for men, doing his leaving cert, pressures from his parents and the casual homophobia he is exposed to in his friend group.
His life is changed as he visits a gay nightclub in Dublin and begins the journey to becoming his authentic self. I really enjoyed the 90's aspect to this, the lack of social media, phones etc made it feel very impactful and added to the isolation our main character feels.
I really enjoyed the found family aspect as he integrates himself into the Dublin nightlife and meets a wonderful group of openly out LGBTQ people. My favourite was of course Daphne - an icon.
While the book was very entertaining, there was definitely a melancholy feel to even the happier moments as we are very much in the main characters head as he feels shame and despair towards himself.
An enjoyable read, I might pick up another Tom Lennon book soon if my library has it in stock.
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