The magical substance allows the characters in “Shamrock Tea” to penetrate inside the famous painting by Jan van Eyck “Double Portrait of the Arnolfini”, and they gain the ability to perceive their surroundings with extreme clarity. The intricacies of the plot and multi-layered themes (medieval color symbolism, lives of saints, the fate of Ireland) turn the narrative into an intricate lace. Everything is connected to everything, and the whole world can be seen in a drop of water - as Arthur Conan Doyle, who is also one of the heroes of this amazing and magical book, believed. Ciaran Carson (b. 1948) is a Northern Irish writer, author of several poetry collections, laureate of several literary awards. The novel "Shamrock Tea" was longlisted for the 2001 Booker Prize.