Breakfast on Pluto

This story will unhinge you a little. Patrick Braden starts his life as a babe left on the doorsteps of a church where he is taken in by Father Bernard McIvor, who just so happens to be Patrick's real father. Not knowing what else to do with the child, the pastor takes Patrick to an abusive and alcoholic foster home. It is around this time that Patrick decides he is a transvestite and starts calling himself "Pussy". While Pussy shares his life story in lighthearted, sometimes amusing, sometimes matter of fact anecdotes, there is always a dark and violent undercurrent. That can't be helped when the protagonist's boyfriend is murdered, Pussy becomes a prostitute and gets involved in terrorism. Need I say more?

I flew through this book in one day and absolutely enjoyed it.
The author is a genuine talent, his writing is raw and full of life, feeling truly like the character's diary. though if you are a fan of the film adaptation (which is one of my favorite movies ever) you will not find the exact same story or portrayal of the characters. while some have complained about the differences between the two, I thoroughly enjoyed both, (though I prefer the film and the creative liberties that were taken) We follow a more flawed version of Patrick, but still the witty, flamboyant troublemaker that makes this character one of my favorites.

I picked this up a while back because I'd seen the movie, and because I'd always meant to read Patrick McCabe. I've been curious for years, and this gave me a chance to get into one. I wouldn't have called the movie happy, although it goes out on a fairly high note, but this is grades below happy. Not that you walk away depressed, but perhaps sobered.

This is the story of Patrick "Pussy" Braden, a transsexual growing up in Ireland and then moving to London during the IRA bombing period. He was abandoned as a baby by his mother, the child of an affair (and a probably non-consensual one) between a young woman, say 16 or so, and the village priest. So he has all sorts of issues, and it's clear from the frame of the book that he's been in show more long-term psychiatric care from pretty early on. The story has a lot of dark bits to it, but not gruesomely so.

The thing that really sells this book is the style; much of the dirty bits (Pussy becomes a prostitute, you see) and the violent bits are skimmed past in interesting ways, and yet, at other times, in his fantasies, come out in some detail. The style, almost breathless, spinning words and rambling scenery and such, is just great. You really buy the character, and his view on the world. That world is dark and crazy here, and that's remarked upon as well, but Pussy makes his way through.

This is short, and a fairly fast read, but not light. If you want to try it, and you're interested in the time period, I'd say go for it. Just don't expect the movie when you do. show less

I picked up this book--a Booker prize finalist--because I saw the movie a few years ago. As always, the book was better than the movie. (The only exception I've come across is The Man Who Would Be King, a Rudyard Kipling tale brilliantly directed by John Huston.) Yet the film's images stayed with me and probably helped me stay grounded to the story, which is not told linearly. Plus the first-person narrator is not exactly compos mentis.

Most of the book is told by Patrick (Pussy) Braden, an Irish transvestite prostitute who dreams--obsesses--of a home and a loving family. The separation between fantasy and reality is not always distinct, yet somehow doesn't matter--Pussy's disturbed inner state echoes the insanity of Irish violence in show more the 1970s. "[My foster mother] used to have this habit of lighting cigarette papers and sending them flying up the flue to the light, to go spinning across the stars as far as Pluto or wherever else they wanted to go and that was what I felt like now as I watched the blur of yellow...."

Occasional chapters narrate the activities of others--especially the paramilitaries--but the bulk of the book is given over to Pussy and his tortured but flamboyant inner and outer life. Pussy reacts to paternal rejection and neglect much the way the monster reacted to Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's novel--but in this case the rage and despair is expressed in a rich fantasy life. Conversely, he idolizes his unknown biological mother.

Meanwhile, Pussy leaves rural Ireland for the excitement of London in the early seventies. The music and color of that period runs through the book; the title is a phrase from a hit song. He sets himself up in London as a street prostitute--a risky life at best--made more threatening by the random violence of the Troubles. An unsuspected resourcefulness allows Pussy to accommodate--barely--both personal and political pain.

Despite the horror of Pussy's situation, the book is a pleasure to read and fairly short. I tore through it in one sitting. show less

Mr. Patrick "Pussy" Braden is Patrick McCabe's fascinating misfit hero(ine) in Breakfast on Pluto, a novel that was a finalist for the Booker Prize in 1998. This former number one bestseller in Ireland is the story of a young man who makes his way to London to prostitute himself, dressed in his favorite blousy tops and tight miniskirts. This strange story is revealed as Pussy writes it all down for his psychiatrist, Dr. Terence. Pussy's seamy life of prostitution around Piccadilly Circus is obviously centered on sex, but the violence of The Troubles is very much a part of this story. Bombings and death explode into the book several times. The reader isn't always sure what is going on because of some misdirection and clever plot twists, show more but all is nicely folded within McCabe's fine writing. He deftly shifts time and leaves some areas of the story unclear, but, by the last page, it all works together to create a disturbing and moving book.

McCabe has written four other novels, with The Butcher Boy being the best known, most likely because of the film for which McCabe and Neil Jordon co-wrote the screenplay. That film did a great job of capturing the McCabe style. His characters are so well drawn that their images stick in your mind's eye. Now, you will find these characters disturbing, but if you've an odd sense of humor, they'll also amuse you to no end. McCabe's writing is to be watched for, so be on the lookout for a collection of stories promised for the near future.

(4/99) show less

This is a difficult book, especially if you don't know much about the IRA. Nonetheless, it is a compelling and transgressive story that never lets up. Unfortunately, the hardcover edition that I read is riddled with typos, especially near the end, which makes a difficult book border on frustrating.

It is of utmost importance to proceed with caution whilst reading Patrick McCabe's critically lauded piece of fantastical narrative. It is not for everyone, and is most definitely not an easy read. The protagonist is unreliable at times; she blurs the lines between reality and her own internal fantasies. Most of the time, the reader isn't quite sure what is actually happening and what is in her head. The story line is halted, at times, to tell the story of a different person, a device used to convey the brutality of the IRA-heavy period. With a rocky beginning and a solid ending, the middle teeters between disastrous melancholy and hopeless romanticism and innocence. McCabe utilizes numerous motifs (space, perfume/scent) and themes show more (paternity, violence, music) to create a world that is similar to ours, yet is somehow a bit off-balance. Hence, the idea of Pluto. Inverted syntax abounds, particularly in areas where Pussy, the transgendered character, is least in touch with the world around her. Despite chronic confusion and various gaps in interest, McCabe creates a desperately real world, and the woman who will be forever isolated from it, be it through gender, politics, or others that attempt to isolate her from society. show less