"Gerry gripped a bath towel around his waist. The autumn chill spread goose-pimples across his naked torso. His mother pressed in behind him and when he straightened they almost knocked heads. He palmed the air with his free hand. ‘What do you expect me to see?’"

'Balan' brings us into the mind of a young man whose confidence outweighs his skills of perception, whose understanding of his family and his place in the world is about to change drastically. This tale is in turns funny, heart-wrenching and startling: an honest examination of the first days of the recession from Hennessy Award-winning writer Valerie Sirr. CLICK HERE TO READ 'BALAN'.

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"Gerry gripped a bath towel around his waist. The autumn chill spread goose-pimples across his naked torso. His mother pressed in behind him and when he straightened they almost knocked heads. He palmed the air with his free hand. ‘What do you expect me to see?’"​

"Gerry gripped a bath towel around his waist. The autumn chill spread goose-pimples across his naked torso. His mother pressed in behind him and when he straightened they almost knocked heads. He palmed the air with his free hand. ‘What do you expect me to see?’"