“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

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

This Week We're Reading ... Of Wee Sweetie Mice And Men and Streetwise

An angrier, tipsier Carl Hiaasen loose in New York foiling the IRA's plans for world domination against a backdrop of a heavyweight boxing world title fight? It could only be Colin Bateman. Boasting the verbs 'slabber', 'mizzle' and 'gulder', Of Wee Sweetie Mice And Men (right) is a "fast and furious" tale that "throws in black humour that has you laughing out loud at the most awful of situations." Which is, to be fair, what Bateman does best ... Streetwise (left) is a more sober affair, being a compilation of short stories written by inmates in an Irish prison and edited by Neville Thompson. Based on real-life experiences, for the most part, the collection is a mixed bag but certainly worth dipping into. Says Critical Mick: "Snooty critics will turn up their starched spats and whine in a D4 accent, 'Oh, pshaw! All these facts has already been well established, I daresay!' Critical Mick will kick their fancy pants." Don't say you haven't been warned, Snooty Critic-types ...

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