The story is about a 10-year-old boy living in Barrytown, North Dublin, and the events that happen within his age group, school and home in around 1968.

[1] The novel, chronicling Paddy's internal journey towards maturity, is a bildungsroman, as it centres upon the main character's development.

While the beginning of the book is filled with playful antics, the growing antagonism between his parents and the breaking up of their marriage are evident as the novel moves on.

Despite the absence of a clear-cut plot (introduction, complication, climax, dénouement) the reader is still able to sense the passage of time both in Paddy's own life and in the changes that come to Barrytown.

Doyle's language employs a register that gives the reader the vivid impression of listening to a ten-year-old Irish boy from the 1960s.