“Declan Burke is his own genre. The Lammisters dazzles, beguiles and transcends. Virtuoso from start to finish.” – Eoin McNamee “This bourbon-smooth riot of jazz-age excess, high satire and Wodehouse flamboyance is a pitch-perfect bullseye of comic brilliance.” – Irish Independent Books of the Year 2019 “This rapid-fire novel deserves a place on any bookshelf that grants asylum to PG Wodehouse, Flann O’Brien or Kyril Bonfiglioli.” – Eoin Colfer, Guardian Best Books of the Year 2019 “The funniest book of the year.” – Sunday Independent “Declan Burke is one funny bastard. The Lammisters ... conducts a forensic analysis on the anatomy of a story.” – Liz Nugent “Burke’s exuberant prose takes centre stage … He plays with language like a jazz soloist stretching the boundaries of musical theory.” – Totally Dublin “A mega-meta smorgasbord of inventive language ... linguistic verve not just on every page but every line.Irish Times “Above all, The Lammisters gives the impression of a writer enjoying himself. And so, dear reader, should you.” – Sunday Times “A triumph of absurdity, which burlesques the literary canon from Shakespeare, Pope and Austen to Flann O’Brien … The Lammisters is very clever indeed.” – The Guardian

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

The Banville Conundrum: When Johnald Met Donville

John Banville / Benjamin Black (left/left) hangs out with Donald Westlake / Richard Stark to discuss the unbearable lightness of being yourself - "To find a new direction to go in was liberating," says John-Ben of his alter-ego's segue into crime fiction, Christine Falls. "I’m kind of playing with this, and I don’t quite trust it yet. It may be a terrible mistake." A profitable one, though: John-Ben has a sequel on the way ... and why not, when the first got the all-important 'nifty Chandler homage' thumbs-up from the Sydney Morning Herald ... which is nice.

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