Reviewed by Sonia

Although this story is entitled �The Irishman� it tells us much more about the narrator than it does Liam.

The narrator is an Australian travelling, among people and interacting with strangers but deliberately apart from them.

He had always believed �it inherent in people to seek the companionship of others when even in their minds they desire solitude, even loneliness�. He seeks out the cafe waitress on a daily basis, but in the end he leaves, perhaps seeking loneliness or perhaps to avoid it, as he knows it is �easiest to leave someone only the once�.

One image I particularly loved: �His voice was strong and clear, sweet with the musical lilt that is god�s gift to the Irish�. BJ�s writing is peppered with descriptions that have an almost poetic clarity.

One image/thought that didn�t work as well: �it never once occurred to me that I was one of them�, this is given as if it still hasn�t, but it must have for the thought to be born.

I found the narrator�s story compelling and intriguing, but the story of Liam - while well told - was a little cliched. Perhaps its purpose was to tell us more about the narrator, I�m not sure but I think as we see more of BJ�s work we will learn more about the traveller - who we were introduced to in �Up Along the Coast�.