Seasons, fields, stones, predicaments, people - all of them are evoked with a swiftness, a sympathy and understanding (devoid of Celtic sentimentalism) that mark out McGahern as an outstanding writer.
Well, aside from the novelty factor of its origins, it is a surprisingly effective product, one that reads with a swiftness that is not unlike the experience of clicking through multiple screens at a time.
This is remarkable stuff, and to those who, like me, have been adults for more than a couple of decades, it has seemed to come upon us with a swiftness that is hard to fathom.
The Saudi was identified, with a swiftness that surprised some, by body parts found at the scene in Sultanahmet.
I agreed with a swiftness that they found alarming.
Lithuania's Jews were massacred with a swiftness and thoroughness unusual for even that bloody time.
In line, someone was like, "What time does Yung Lean go on?" and I was like, "12 35" with a swiftness.
A special enthusiasm was speeding in a cigarette boat with a swiftness and acceleration which left the Secret Service behind.
If history tells us anything it is that the course of a Masters tournament can change with the swiftness of a blink.
"When it sees any object on the surface of the water," he wrote, "[it] descends from a great height… with the swiftness of an arrow; and at the instant of seizing with its long beak and outstretched neck, the floating morsel, it turns upwards, with extraordinary dexterity, by the aid of its forked tail, and its long, powerful wings".
