Wandering In Exile
Wandering in Exile is the second in the trilogy titled The Life and Times, following Born & Bred which started the story of Danny Boyle. In this installment, Danny moves to Canada to start anew and with the help of his uncle, Martin, a former priest who came out of the closet in Born & Bred, gets a job working gigs out of local bars. Not to create a stereotype but Danny likes his drink and his girlfriend Deirdre gets pregnant hoping that having a child will help Danny deal with the demons that torment him. His beloved uncle is diagnosed with AIDS and Danny takes this very hard and gets deeper into the bottle. There are a lot of characters in this book, among them his parents that still live in Ireland.
I first read Peter Murphy's work in Lagan Love which I loved. Mr.Murphy writes in such a lyrical and poetic way that shows that the Irish are great storytellers. I loved how Danny grew from a young man into a husband and father. Even though Danny is a flawed individual, as we all are, and doesn't often make the best decisions, I loved his character. Deirdre is the rock he needs to lean on and she is the person that I think will finally help Danny get rid of the voice's in his head. As with any type of substance abuse, you have to get down to the bottom and work your way up and I have every faith that Danny will do just that. This is an emotional read for sure as we find out more of what torments Danny and how he works through his feelings. I look forward to reading more from Peter, as he is one of my favorite Irish authors. If you enjoy a great story, then this one is definitely for you.
