Gull
Published on 7. January 2016
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-1-78497-176-2 (ISBN)
Description
It was one of the most bizarre episodes in the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland: the construction, during the war's most savage phase, of a factory in West Belfast to make a luxury sports car with gull-wing doors. Huge subsidies were provided by the British government. The first car rolled off the line during the appalling hunger strikes of 1981.
The prime mover and central character of this intelligent, witty and moving novel was John DeLorean, brilliant engineer, charismatic entrepreneur and world-class conman. He comes to energetic, seductive life through the eyes of his fixer in Belfast, a traumatised Vietnam veteran, and of a woman who takes a job in the factory against the wishes of her husband. Each of them has secrets and desires they dare not share with anyone they know.
A great American hustler brought to vivid life in the most unlikely setting imaginable.
The prime mover and central character of this intelligent, witty and moving novel was John DeLorean, brilliant engineer, charismatic entrepreneur and world-class conman. He comes to energetic, seductive life through the eyes of his fixer in Belfast, a traumatised Vietnam veteran, and of a woman who takes a job in the factory against the wishes of her husband. Each of them has secrets and desires they dare not share with anyone they know.
A great American hustler brought to vivid life in the most unlikely setting imaginable.
Reviews / Votes
'Glenn Patterson has written a decorous book about a big, indecorous American failure ... Patterson is alert to every nuance. He is by now a tremendously proficient novelist ... A rich, fictional achievement' Literary Review. 'No other novelist has proved as capable of capturing the heart of modern Belfast' Sunday Tribune. 'A delightful novel ... A fluent narrative that unfolds with wit, charm and stranger-than-fiction twists' Daily Mail. 'Colourful ... If anyone can tell the curious DeLorean story in Northern Ireland, it's Patterson' Observer. 'A tragi-comic story of terrorism and fraud' The Scotsman. 'A great read with tangible TV potential' Irish News Book of the Week. 'Hilarious and poignant. Gull confirms Patterson's status as one of Northern Ireland's finest fictional chroniclers' Sunday Times. 'This is a complex story put together with intuitive ease and panache ... He is compelling' Irish Times. 'Modern Belfast has seldom been portrayed more vividly' Belfast Telegraph (7 books you should own). 'Witty, entertaining, thought-provoking' The Times. 'Much more than a story about a failed sports car; at its heart it argues for a bittersweet triumph of ravenous hope over grim truth and crushing reality. In that sense [...] Patterson has written his most universal story to date' Irish Examiner. 'Pacy, humane and often amusing' Sunday Herald.More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 130 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-78497-176-2 (9781784971762)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Glenn Patterson was born and lives in Belfast. He is a graduate of the University of East Anglia creative writing course. He has written several acclaimed novels and co-wrote the screenplay of the film Good Vibrations, based on the Belfast music scene of the 1970s.