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|title=The Fields

|sort=Fields

|date=January 2014

|isbn=978-0349138671

}}

Jim Finnegan is embarking on his teens in 1980s Dublin but that's not all he's embarking on. A lad from an average Catholic family in many ways, he has five sisters, a mother who believes the supreme threat is a telling off from the parish priest and his father is understandably tired all the time. Between school and the cacophony of his mother's coffee mornings Jim learns a lot but nothing as useful as what happens when you become very friendly with a pair of pillows or what to do with the girls he and his mates ogle from afar. Then suddenly a lot of things change almost simultaneously and life doesn't seem so average any more.

The only reason I didn't hit reach for the whole 5* is that I felt Jimmy's search for further enlightenment in the last third or so was a little drawn out (phrased to prevent spoilers) but that's a minor whinge. In fact I still think about Jim, his mates and his family from time to time and I still wonder about that ingeniously ambiguous ending. Yes, I realise its fiction, but when a book worms its way in to your mind like this, it just can't be helped.

Further Reading: If his appeals then we're betting you'll also enjoy [[Jammy Dodger by Kevin Smith]], also set in 1980s Dublin with a humorous twist in the seriousness but this time it's the life of a student.

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