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{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=The Cold Eye of Heaven
|sort=The Cold Eye of Heaven
|author=Christine Dwyer Hickey
|reviewer=Louise Laurie
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=368
|publisher=Atlantic Books
|date=September 2011
|isbn=978-0857890306
|websitecover=1843549905|videoaznuk=1843549905|amazonukaznus=<amazonuk>0857890301</amazonuk>|amazonus=<amazonus>B005C3Y3SK</amazonus>
}}
I reviewed Hickey's [[Last Train From Liguriaby Christine Dwyer Hickey| Last Train From Liguria]] so was keen to see if I'd enjoy this book too. The front cover says that Farley ''unravels the warp and weft of his life'' which is a great phrase - wish I'd though of it. Hickey lives in Dublin so I'm kind of expecting good characterization (as the book's location is Dublin) and a nice line in put-me-down wit. But will I get it? Time to find out ...
Well, I've only just started the book and it's a definite thumbs up to the second. On page 2 we have the glorious line '' ... our man Farley was a survivor. Not even the Shannon could keep the bastard down!'' Farley is elderly now and his body is not what it used to be. He's coming apart at the seams. He's somehow found himself on the bathroom floor and he can't get himself back up. But he's got a survival strategy ... ''Farley takes in a deep breath. That's it - relax.'' But whether he likes it or not, his mind starts to wander and we go back in time. First to just a few days ago, then further back to Farley's working days, his married days and his courting days.
Hickey takes her time with each period of Farley's life. It's not a particularly eventful life but it has its moments. It also has its ups and downs but before we get to all that in glorious detail, there's the small matter of Farley's 'suit'. It is both revelatory and poignant. He wonders when old age crept up on him. When - exactly - did he turn into an old man. He hadn't really noticed. Or was he avoiding it. And as if to labour the point, underline the fact, Hickey tells us about a recent trip Farley made, to collect this suit from the dry cleaners. If he remembers correctly. He's on this slow and ponderous trip into town ... ''he waits at the kerb for a pause in the traffic. Farley knows he could stand here all day waiting like Moses for the Red Sea to cut him a passage ...'' But crossing the road (or this bugger of a bleedin' road as Farley perhaps might say) is trickier than it seems. Farley's legs are a bit unsteady and his eyesight is a bit blurry. Hickey paints a portrait of a man in decline where an everyday occurrence becomes well, almost a nightmare. Read it and weep.
If this book appeals then you might like to try [[Last Train From Liguria by Christine Dwyer Hickey|Last Train From Liguria]] also by Christine Dwyer Hickey.
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