As the title might tell you, Kevin Barry’s City of Bohane is really about a place rather than specific people. While you meet a whole range of interesting, wild characters, the “character” you really get to know is Bohane. Bohane (fictional, don’t try to find it on a map) sits somewhere on the west coast of Ireland after something disrupted the government, the electricity, trade, and who knows what else. Bohane looks like it’s pretty much left to take care of itself. This catastrophe is never mentioned and it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that scrappy Bohane is still on its feet (except when its drunk) and fighting (especially when its drunk).
In order to keep things moving, Barry focuses on gang boss Logan Hartnett and his old rival Gant Broderick, and Hartnett’s lieutenants Wolfie, Fucker, and Jenni Ching. Harnett’s people are responsible for the death of a member of another gang, which starts a gang war brewing. And Gant is back in town, ostensibly to settle old scores, but he mostly seems content to be back in his old haunts. For all its violence, Bohane is actually a pretty well run place. The gangs and the Authority (remains of the police and local government) keep things from getting out of control. But as the gangs start their war, this tenuous control starts to break down.
But as I said before, this is really a book about a place. The gang war and old grudges is really just an excuse to explore the geography and history of Bohane. I don’t mean this in a bad way, but Bohane reminds me a lot of some of the best American, Irish, and British noir movies. Everything is covered in cigarette smokey and hard liquor. The characters a volatile, laughing and then before you know it, out come the knives and straight razors. And it’s a place none of the characters and leave no matter how hard they try.
City of Bohane is an atmospheric writing experience. Just don’t fuss too much about the plot because you’ll feel cheated