A luscious literary trip through Dublin’s soul

The First Verse. By Barry McCrea, Brandon, €12.70

The First Verse should come with a warning sticker: this novel will make your head spin, then tick in your brain like a question-clock and stick, like a childhood song.

In October 2003, Niall Lenihan migrates from the staid safety of his parents’ Sandycove home to live on campus in Trinity College. He quickly suspends his induction into undergraduate social life to flit through Dublin’s ...