Never before published in the United States, "Disturbance," a wickedly funny, macabre story of obsession, is the first book by Jamie O'Neill, author of "At Swim, Two Boys."Nilus Moore is an Irish boy struggling to find his place in the world. He lives with his eccentric and capricious father in their shambolic house. The decay is overwhelming and Nilus notices every detail—from a chipped cup to the crumbling plaster—but when Nilus' uncle tries to demolish the house and build an office complex on the block, Nilus and his father take in boarders to save their home: Mrs. Houlihan, a medium; a blind piano accordionist; Father Mulcahy, a defrocked priest. On the surface, Nilus is calm, silent, fastidious, but he is a young man trying to cope with tragedy and chaos. Haunted by his mother's death, Nilus takes refuge in his bedroom, where he obsessively makes and remakes a matt-black jigsaw puzzle as he battles to keep control of his senses. Written with wry wit and deep compassion, "Disturbance" is a portrait of a mind disordered yet obsessed with order, a haunting and powerful work of incredible imagination.