Novelist and playwright, Sebastian Barry calls Donal Ryan "the king of the new wave of Irish writers" — and here Ryan pulls another rabbit from his glittering hat. Bleak, dark, deceptive, and beguiling, Where Are the Kings delivers a sledgehammer blow to its unsuspecting reader. As the covers close, it is time to draw a deep breath and contemplate, in silence, a plot that is not merely ingenious but deeply penetrating. A bildungsroman, the book follows the tumultuous journey of young Jack in three arresting acts: tempus edax ("time the devourer of things"), tempus fugit ("the flight of time"), and tempus imperator ("time the ruler"). On the cusp of adolescence, Jack is dealt a devastating blow when his mother, Grace, drowns herself. Unable to bear the consequences of his wife's death, Jack's father descends into mental chaos before being dispatched to an asylum in Limerick.