"Unraveling Oliver," by Liz Nugent

      Often I am at a loss for a book to read on my I-pad when I am marching up a 10 percent grade on the treadmill in our exercise room--something I do a several days a week. Then I go into the DC Public Library and look for an E-book I can download. Most of the desirable books can only be accessed by putting a 'hold' on them, and this usually means a long wait--for example, you are 135th in line and the library has 15 copies.
Recently, without a clue as to author or title, I downloaded "Unraveling Oliver," and after the first chapter I was hooked, and I finished the book in a couple of days. I am not sure where I rate it in literary terms, but--so what?--it held my attention from beginning to end. Much of the 'unraveling' does involve a coincidence that somewhat beggars belief  (actually, a couple of coincidences, at least) but I am sure the author researched the background to establish the possibility of the major coincidence.
     The author, Liz Nugent, is Irish and she has written children's stories and radio and television drama. This is her first novel, and it received the Irish Crime Novel of the Year Award. While there is more than one crime, I certainly would not call it a crime novel
       Oliver, who is unraveled, is an author of a set of very popular children's books, and something of a literary pundit. He lives with his wife, Alice, in what soon seems a rather strange relationship. In the first chapter--actually, in the first sentence--for reasons that are unclear, he seriously assaults her, leaving her unconscious as he leaves the house to get a drink in a pub. And from there on, each chapter is narrated by Oliver, or by one or other of  seven characters who have observed his life from a childhood onwards and been involved with him in a variety of ways. Eventually, we are brought back again to the present day, knowing how the initial vicious assault came to pass.
     I enjoyed it. Now I must send it back to the Library. I do this conscientiously when I have finished a book. But the slowness with which I get informed of the availability of a book on hold suggests to me that many readers just leave them on their devices until they expire at 21 days.