The Parts

After reading a couple really lame books, I'm fortunate to have found "The Parts" by Keith Ridgway. This is one of those books in which the author sets about describing the everyday lives of 5 or 6 people who seem to have very little relationship to each other, but, as he weaves the story together their lives become more entangled. This is the story of Delly Roche, the elderly and dying Irish heir to a pharmaceutical fortune and her friend American author Kitty Flood, and her doctor. It is also the story of Joe and Barry, a radio personality and his producer. And, Kez, the hustler. The book has moments of brilliance, like the author's description of the many Dublins, his convoluted plot regarding a memory-wiping drug and the governments of Earth, and his, at times, nearly Dickensian descriptions of the Dublin streets or the characters themselves. There are some trite aspects to this book. For example, you can already guess the fate of the gay hustler on the streets of Dublin. But the author handles these moments so well, that you don't really mind. So, if you can find it. Read it.