May 072013
Gamal comes from the made-up Irish word gamalóg, but it means, roughly, village idiot. This debut has been compared to Catcher in the Rye, but it’s more of an honest description of the unrelenting nastiness of life in a small town,. Difference is squashed. Aspiration – not for money or cars, but for self-fulfilment – is ridiculed, and these things lead to horrific consequences. The Gamal unfolds an unflattering picture of small-town life through the honest eyes of Charlie, the eponymous gamal, and in doing so, dishes out a portrait of both a tragedy and Charlie, delivering a compelling story in spades.