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The Dream of the Celt is described as an epic book, and, for once the publishers are not overegging the pudding. Mario Vargas Llosa's imagined biography of Roger Casement is epic. An engrossing narrative that moves from Ireland to Africa and all points in between is married to intimate details – Casement's cousin Gertrude is nicknamed "Gee" – and you have a novel that engages head and heart from start to finish. This reviewer was struck by the author's detailed knowledge of north Antrim, its glens and towns – though there are infelicities. The references to "Northern Ireland" jar because there was no Northern Ireland in Casement's time. (Perhaps it is a translation issue, northern Ireland not being the same as Northern Ireland.) That said, Vargas Llosa draws the reader into the narrative with such skill and authority that the book is hard to put down. Casement's naivety is there to see, as are his compassion and commitment. He speaks to us as a man, a doomed and frightened being, but one with the courage of his convictions and, yes, a dream.
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