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Mr Lynch’s Holiday Catherine O’Flynn
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'I'm looking forward to seeing you and Laura and getting my first taste of "abroad".' Eamonn Lynch stares at the letter announcing the imminent arrival of his father, Dermot. His first thought is: I'll make an excuse, I'll put him off. But it is too late. Dermot is already here, in southern Spain, and soon he'll discover that Eamonn lives in an unfinished building site; that Laura's left him; and that it'll be just the two of them, father and son, for two long, hot weeks. Dermot doesn't entirely recognise his son; how can he stay quite so long in bed? And where is Laura? Eamonn doesn't seem to know quite what to make of his father's arrival. On the other hand his neighbours - pushy and domineering Roger and Cheryl, smug but disillusioned property developers Becca and Ian - see in Dermot a respite from themselves. Swept up in the British expats' ceaseless barbecuing and bickering, both father and son slowly discover the truth about each other and the family past. But at the same time they uncover a shocking, unacknowledged secret at the heart of this defiant but beleaguered community. Mr Lynch's Holiday is a very funny and moving story about the clash of generations; about how families break apart and come together again; about how living "abroad" can feel less like a long holiday and more of a life sentence. |
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| Reader Reviews | |
Review by Ben Macnair (071025) Rating (7/10) Review
by Ben Macnair For the Brits at Lomaverde, who are used to low level bickering, herding Goats,and paranoia about the state of their living arrangements, Dermot provides fresh intrigue, some fresh new speculation, and at least some romantic interest. As Eamonn and Dermot get to know each other, as men, the story unfolds, with each of them finding new meaning in life, and with each other, but the denouement, when it comes feels a bit contrived, and rushed.
As a study in father/son relationships and life abroad, Mr
Lynch’s Holiday is a good and entertaining read, but a tighter hand
in the editing process would have made a good book a lot better, for
there are a lot of unnecessary characters and details in the book,
but for fans of Catherine O’Flynn’s other novels, What Was Lost,
and The News Where You Are this is a worthy follow up. |
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7/10