The World of Tomorrow

Brothers. The action in Brendan Matthews debut novel titled, The World of Tomorrow, unfolds over one week in New York City in 1939. I often become impatient with novels over three hundred pages or so, and Matthews never once tested that patience as he kept me captivated for almost six hundred pages. Two brothers flee Ireland with stolen IRA funds, assume fake identities, and arrive in New York City spending the loot lavishly. Their brother, a talented jazz musician, was already in New York. Matthews led me to care deeply about these well-developed characters and a larger interesting cast, while he poked into issues of family relationships, race relations, political power, crime and the shadow of Hitler. The prose is finely written, the story captivating and the underlying human behavior resonant. This is one of the best debut novels I’ve read in years. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase The World of Tomorrow from amazon.com.