Great book. Hard read at times but in the end there are so many beautiful moments. There is love-hardship-family-alcoholism and a boy's love for his mother. Wonderful fully realized characters-beautiful prose. Glad I was reading on Kindle so I could look up a lot of the Galwegian slang. So glad it was written the way it would have been spoken and not dumbed down for the readers. It felt very authentic. Highly recommended.