Books: Confessions of a Fallen Angel

I picked this book up in Ireland. It is the first novel by Ronan O'Brien and its subject appealed to my sense of the strange. After a near-death experience as a child, a book-smart yet calamitous ne'er-do-well is haunted by dreams foretelling the death of people he feels close to. Set in Dublin and narrated by the main character, it's sectioned according to each supposed victim. His tale starts with the death of his childhood friend and subsequently, his mother, mentor, lovers and other significant soul mates who offer him deviation from a life of aimless under-achieving.

While this is at times a sad book, it is not depressing. It carries throughout a sense of doom, although it is not overly dramatic or sentimental. It's a quick and easy read. There is definite talent in the writing. His descriptions of loss are palpable and his spiral towards his own self-destruction is expertly handled to the point where it feels inevitable. The writing is littered with great colloquial similes ("face like a bag of spanners";"as thick as a box of Mars bars"), which, as someone from Dublin, made me smirk. Essential light relief for what could be a very gloomy tale.

My first criticism of this book is the title. Yes it's god-awful, but it is not even an accurate reflection of the character. There is nothing angelic or demonic about the character: he's a smarter than average kid, who fate has destined to be alone. My second, and more imperative issue, is the tale itself. There is no explanation for his dreams and no justification for the victims. It describes heart-wrenching scenarios but ultimately leaves the reader missing the connection. It's a story with an ending but no resolution, and that for me is a fatal flaw in any book that deals with the supernatural. There is an other-world of possibilities out there. O'Brien has asked us to believe in the unbelievable, he could have taken us much further. I have no doubt that the author is a very talented writer, but he needs to become a better storyteller.