This collection of stories is set in Portobello, on the edge of Dublin. The stories reflect on characters on the edge of life, personalities that do not quite fit in. Through the author's eyes, and through the eyes of his characters, we follow his progress through these stories. Old friends are met, in loss or renewal, making or trying to make fresh starts, or looking back through the glass of time. Disappointment, happiness, and uncertainty lead to the realization that this place has become his home. Written over the past thirty years, these earnest and deeply human anecdotes form a greater story - of one man's life in one place. "Very evocative of place... They read, unsurprisingly given the book's title, like sketches or portraits, the line between fiction and nonfiction further blurred by the frequent use of unnamed narrators and scratchboard illustrations."-Publishers Weekly