The International [Paperback]

This has all the makings of a classic. Reading it is a humbling experience, not only because of its historical resonance but because of the quiet skill and precision with which it is composed. Understated, often tongue-in-cheek, it nonetheless packs powerful emotional punches. Set in Belfast in January 1967, on the eve of the inaugural meeting of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, the novel follows one day in the life of 18-year-old Danny, a barman in the Belfast hotel which hosted the meeting. It is the last day of normality in the city, though already there have been stirrings of the troubles to come. The previous summer the young barman Peter Ward was shot dead by the UVF. His name recurs like a sob throughout the book. But the main news of this Saturday is a fire in Brand's Arcade and business is as normal in the hotel, with the ebb and flow of customers and wall-to-wall weddings. Danny peaks into their lives - a drunken football star, a lovelorn young woman, a conman, a sad children's entertainer. Weaving the threads of their lives together Patterson brilliantly recreates the fabric of Belfast at that time.

That he writes honestly differentiates him from the mass of Irish writing, which if not overt Sinn Peaks propaganda, is usually complacent in perpetuating the Oirish myth in the hope of a few sales in the misty eyed international marketplace. If Glenn were to indulge in a bit of creative whinging, or racist Brit-bashing, then doubtless he would be a much more famous and wealthy man. Thankfully he doesn't and contents himself with the business of writing readable and entertaining books.

In 'The International' we are taken back to the time in the late sixties, when political tensions were rising but were not the main focus of life. In Belfast in 1967 the things that captured most people's attentions were the opposite sex, proposed Belfast Urban Motorway (the B.U.M.), football, footballers and drink.

The title comes from The International Hotel, which resided behind Belfast City Hall. While not the smartest of establishments it had a unique role in the life of the city, and a loyal clientele. It is in the hotel that the action of the book is set, mostly in The Blue Bar from where the 18 year old barman Danny works. Though Danny's eyes we meet the menagerie of assorted small time crooks, disappointed lovers, failed puppeteers, and drunks and drunken local heroes, that come his way during a Saturday shift.

Some times they pass in casual observations, but occasionally Patterson gives tells the tale of his characters in detail in vignettes and mini biographies that speak volumes about Ulster society. In particular there is Stanley, who wants to get his puppet show on TV, and Ingrid who has come to stalk her ex-boyfriend whose wedding reception is being held in The International.

The vibrancy of Patterson's writing is such, that after setting the book down it is hard to determine if you know the Blue Bar from reading about it or actually being there, and for anyone over the age of 35, this book will be a delight, with maliciously researched references to long gone places in Belfast (remember Brands arcade, Anderson McAuley), and a reminder of the city that now can only be glimpsed in "Lesser Spotted Ulster" and nostalgia newsreels. It rolls along in an easy style that keeps you turning the pages until they run out.

To the wider, or younger world, such is the specific local detail that many references will be lost, but in return they will gain a more accurate than usual impression of how society in Northern Ireland fitted together before the troubles.