I think technique can be taught but I think the only way to learn to write is to read, and I see writing and reading as completely related. One almost couldn't exist without the other.

The novel is set during his last day in the school. He was the Garda sergeant of the village. His father was also the sergeant and did marry a second time although not during his time as a policeman.

John McGahern (12 November 1934 – 30 March 2006) is regarded as one of the most important Irish writers of the latter half of the twentieth century.