The parents are lost in the past that formed them; the children raise themselves as a result from neglect and unintended, emotional abuse. Meanwhile, the Portergeist ('dead, my arse'), communicating to them all through modern media, tries to control and direct each of them to get his brother to play with him again in the fiery wake.

Fantasies combine with a loose understanding of what is really happening, questioning everyone's identity, perspective, resilience and voice.

Portergeist is a social history covering a fifty-year timespan explored through the distorted internal logic of mental illness, life as seen through the eyes of children and a very quirky humour. For those who have not experienced dysfunction on the level of this family, it is an unsettling read, but there is a happy ending, even for the last of the family's flea-bitten cats.

'I loved this book, craziness and all. Families can make or break us and the author has decided for the former, with a huge injection of fantasy and humour. The different family voices are so well delineated I feel I would know them instantly if I met them - a wild ride through a lifetime!' - Maryanne Coleman (Goblin Market, Pandemonium)

'I couldn't put it down. For me, the references to the TV and radio shows of my childhood really pulled me in and I felt that I was really there, watching with the Portergeist as the family implodes. It works as a memoir and a fantasy and anyone struggling with a difficult family background should read this - some humour and a bit of a sideways look will always make things bearable in the end.' - M.J. Trow