Past Habitual, by Alf MacLochlainn

Past Habitual

Author: Alf MacLochlainn

ISBN-13: 978-1-56478-109-3

Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press

Guideline Price: £9.95

Imaginary presidents, minstrel boys and dental hygienists are just some of the characters that populate the inventive worlds of Alf MacLochlainn's short story collection. Titles such as "Why did I volunteer to kill the kittens?" draw the reader into the 12 stories, with MacLochlainn's discursive style veering between whimsy and more serious subjects. In one story we hear about the demolition of a beloved gnome house; in the next we are in the world of a young pupil from an industrial school, meeting "wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls". Fans of Flann O'Brien will enjoy the absurdity of some of the situations, though the writing is less funny and more autobiographical. This is MacLochlainn's third book. His debut, the novella Out of Focus, was published in the 1980s.