Those of us that are lucky enough to live through our childhoods still bear the scars of what we experience there. More scars may be added as we come into our own and learn to accept ourselves for what we are. Some never make it that far. The viewpoints of the folks shown in this collection pretty much cover the spectrum. In a country where sodomy was a jail-able offense until 1993, these stories published in 1999 still show the fresh wounds. Some like Michael Wynne's Loman and Puppydogs' Tales are pretty upbeat but others like Neil Jordan's Last Rites are just deadly depressing. Overall its a mixed bag and I'm glad to have finished the survey but don't think I'll be digging into a second volume of Irish Gay short stories anytime soon. Many of the writers here are unquestionably talented but the overall mood of the collection is just too drear.

If one knows or cares about someone who's lived through this country at the time, it may well be an invaluable read but a casual reader will probably find these tales just a bit too dark.

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