"Love and Sleep" by Sean O'Reilly is a rather claustrophobic novel, at times glum and heavy. Still, the story, set in Northern Ireland is an intriguing one, and O'Reilly's characters have many skeletons rattling around in their closets, which the author slowly reveals as the book moves along. O'Reilly's main character is Niall, who left his native Derry when he was young. He did not even return for his father's funeral. So when Niall does return in the 1990s (the IRA ceasefire has ended) he has to sort things out with his increasingly troubled family. This as Niall navigates a difficult romance with the politically-charged Lorna. This is an uneven book, but O'Reilly's conclusion is a good one, not least because he wraps things up economically, rather than dragging the material out at length. ($13 / 199 pages / Carrol & Graf)