Heavy on the gothic, O’Donnell takes flight

The debut novel from Irish author Paraic O’Donnell is a Gothic extravaganza with all the trimmings: maps, mirrors, murder, hedge mazes, libraries and labyrinths, ghosts, towers, magic and secret histories.

It is an extremely impressive performance from a first-time novelist. O’Donnell – who has previously worked as a translator – brings to the Gothic mode a highly wrought literary sensibility and a sturdy technical proficiency that should make him the envy of more ...