410. At Swim-Two-Birds

At Swim-Two-Birds
Flann O'Brien
1939
Around 225 pages

I don't want to say I dislike all Irish authors, but I don't think I've ever read an Irish novel I've enjoyed. If you want, you can dive into my archives, prove me wrong, and rub it in my pasty face. 

Our frame story is the life of an Irish student whose uncle is a clerk in the Guinness Brewery in Dublin, which is about as Irish as it gets. This unnamed student is writing three stories that end up intertwining.

This is an example of metafiction, which has never been my cup of tea. I know very little about Irish folklore, so I missed a great deal of these references, and O'Brien wasn't overly concerned with holding the reader's hand through the process.

To the country of Ireland, it's not you, it's me. Actually, it's these insufferable white guys.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

The novel was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.

In 1940, the publishing house of Longman's London premises were destroyed during a bombing raid and almost all the unsold copies were incinerated.

James Joyce loved this, which is enough condemnation for me.

UP NEXT: Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce. Gag.