Arimathea

The great spirit of Frank McGuinness radiates in this magnificent novel. Myriad voices converge on one glistening core; it is a high-wire act earthed in the deepest humanity.

spectacular

there's a lovely sense of connection in reading this novel by the playwright McGuinness, a connection to the rest of the writer's oeuvre ... gorgeous ... a challenging and rewarding read

invested with a weighty, parable-like intensity

prose that could be described as musical ... it is hard not to be charmed ... elegant and thoughtful, often funny, never dull or repetitive

curious, unique and unsettling ... this book demands and deserves to be approached on its own terms

wonderful

a novel infused with an understanding of everyday life - the language laced with wit and McGuinness' panache as a playwright evident in the story as each character takes to the stage

for a novel based in rural Ireland there is freshness to the remote Donegal setting ... strikes an unusual note

this is McGuinness's first novel after many years as a prolific and successful playwright. It is a transfer he makes with great ease ... the structure of the book cleverly makes the most of his strengths and skills as a playwright. Each chapter gives a distinct voice its stage and each voice adds to the tale and nudges it along

I found it to be startling and memorable ... likely to stay with you

fantastic

a really wonderful book

builds to this heart-breaking finale

well-worth a read

an exceptional examination of family, religion and love

in his willingness to leave the rest unresolved ... Frank McGuinness creates something both beautiful and new

an atmosphere of folklore pervades. Lyrical cadences reverberate in the phrasing and there is a profusion of symbolism ... imbuing the novel's events with the uncanny aura of fable or myth

the strangeness of McGuinness's novel, the offbeat atmosphere and the narrative motility, certainly make it an intriguing piece of work. It is perhaps worth enduring bafflement to read a novel that is so defiantly unusual

distinctive and alive ... arresting

a distinctively Irish book ... echoes of Joyce

McGuinness the playwright has shown with Arimathea that he is also a novelist, and he has given us a substantial and intriguing book to contemplate and to remember

McGuinness's montage of voices creates beautifully bleak first novel

a wonderfully unsympathetic portrait of an Irish town and its quietly suffering inhabitants

a beautifully thought-provoking piece of fiction

deeply funny about the absurdities of human behaviour

a powerful, passionate novel ... quirky, authentic, often humorous voices

a Greek chorus of quirky, authentic, often humorous voices

A work of passion and truth, in which imaginative daring is matched by deep psychological insight.

Poetic and strange, elemental and truly original, Arimathea engages fearlessly with the mysteries of art and love.

Frank McGuinness is Professor of Creative Writing in University College Dublin. A world-renowned playwright, his first great stage hit was the highly acclaimed Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme. This is his first novel, a major event.