Sensation

Tipperary
 farmer
 Donal
 Duggan
 is
 twenty‐six,
 less
 a
 man
 than
 a
 child
 growing
 older,
 he
 is
 dead
 to wonder,
 dulled
 to
 life,
 empty
 of
 kindness
 and
 aching
 with
 lust.
 Sensation details
 the
 relationship
 between
 Donal
 and
 a
 veteran
 Kiwi
 escort
 named
 Kim.
 They
 begin
 as
 client
 and
 call‐girl,
 evolve
 into
 ersatz
 lovers,
 then
 business
 partners
 and
 finally
 co‐defendants.
 It
 is
 a
 relationship
 based
 less
 on
 desire
 or
 mutual
 attraction
 than
 on
 urgent
 need.
 They
 give
 each
 other
 something
 no
 one
 else
 can,
 a
 sense
 of
 meaning
 and
 belonging,
 a
 way
 into
 a
 society
 that
 had
 hitherto
 shunned
 them.
 In
 this
 way
 the
 narrative
 touches
 on
 a
 new
 theme
 in
 Irish
 life.
 The
 corrupting
 effects
 of
 money
 and
 power
 on
 someone 
who's 
never 
had
 any 
of 
either.

Donal
 longs
 for
 love
 and
 meaning
 but
 settles
 for
 sex
 and
 status.
 
 He
 will
 come
 to
 realise
 that
 they're
 not
 the
 same
 thing
 and
 will
 ultimately
 be
 faced
 with
 the
 prospect
 of
 betraying
 Kim
 to
 save
 himself.

 The
 question
 is,
 save
 himself
 for
 what?
 
Sensation tests
 may
 of
 our
 assumptions
 about
 commerce,
 love
 and
 friendship
 in
 a
 world
 where
 sexuality
 has
 displaced
 community,
 politics
 and
 religion
 from
 the
 heart 
of 
the 
culture.