The word "boring", in a variety of forms and situations, punctuates the action of Snapshots. Boredom it seems is the natural state of existence for much of our youth today.
Yet, how can this be? From the evidence of this novel, there is much to exercise the minds and lives of young people: drink, parties and sex; not to mention the chore of school, college and exams. Nevertheless, such diversion is not enough for the characters gathered here.
Ois∅n Grant is the hero of the book: an art student in Belfast whose object of desire is Jude, a younger boy still attending secondary school back home in Crossmaglen.
His predicament, as is the predicament of all the characters, is one of dispelling boredom and making something, indeed anything, in life worthwhile and meaningful. Nothing matters in the world depicted here: the border, politics, and careers are all seemingly meaningless.
The adult world of family is uncomprehending of the dilemmas faced by Ois∅n and his friends. Indeed, friends are the new family in this world, offering support and understanding for these teenagers trying to be what they want to be and not what is expected they should be.
The realisation of Ois∅n as the character negotiating this world is confident and accomplished. Smart, witty and aware of his position, he is wholly believable. Other voices break up the narrative, offering different perspectives on the plight of growing up in Celtic Tiger Ireland - even if this novel is set north of the Border.
The only jarring note is stuck with an attempt to lump in the IRA with those adult institutions that are obstacles to these characters' assertion of their true selves. In a novel very much concerned with the here and now, this appears hackneyed and out of date.
Snapshots is the first novel by Jarlath Gregory, himself a final-year sociology student at Trinity College, Dublin.
It is an assured piece of work and bodes well for his future in fiction.