In the crowded field of memoir-­writing, the novelist, dramatist, film-maker and all-round man of letters Carlo Gébler holds a particular place of honour. Father & I: a memoir (2000), telling of his difficult relationship with his dad, the novelist Ernest Gébler, was an example of this popular art at its very best. Now Gébler has returned to the fray with Confessions of a Catastrophist.There is a some overlap with his earlier memoir whenever he recalls his childhood, and those hoping for more insights into his famous mother, Edna O’Brien, will be disappointed. On every other front, though, Confessions of a Catastrophist is a gem.Gébler has certainly inherited the family way with words. Every sentence is perfectly formed, carrying you into the worl