The Dead School Paperback - 1996

From the award-winning author of The Butcher Boy comes a new novel of extraordinary power that, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, confirm[s] McCabe's standing as one of the most brilliant writers to ever come out of Ireland.In The Dead School, Patrick McCabe returns to the emotionally dense landscape of small-town Ireland to explore the inner lives of two men: a headmaster and a schoolteacher, each man the product of a soul-stifling culture, each battling his own demons of loss and betrayal. Tension coils--until tragedy strikes a young student in their charge, and the latent despair and rage that has festered in their hearts explodes onto the page. As in The Butcher Boy, McCabe demonstrates his remarkable command of the vernacular and an uncanny ability to pinpoint the exact moment when ordinary minds take flight into madness. Equally compelling, equally heartbreaking in its impact, The Dead School has established McCabe as one of the most celebrated writers of literary fiction today.A spellbinding story of betrayal and broken dreams narrated to a wonderfully menacing effect...the sheer force of his language...positively thrums with life.-- Los Angeles Times The Dead School makes compelling literature....The writing is seamless, the effect shocking: Imagine Apocalypse Now cheerfully narrated by Jimmy Stewart.-- The Seattle Times McCabe [is] as skilled and significant a novelist as Ireland has produced in decades.-- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)