“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, July 25, 2007

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?” # 649: Sylvester Young

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...
What crime novel would you most like to have written?
Love, Lies and Bleeding. It brought back many memories of growing up in Wolves.
Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
Four kids, a demanding wife, full-time job plus my own writing – for guilty pleasure I only have time for reading the best, the daily tabloids. A great source for plots.
Most satisfying writing moment?
After years of rejection, acceptance of my first book.
The best Irish crime novel is …?
Ronan Bennett, The Second Prison.
What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
Love, Lies and Bleeding. I wish I had the know-how to make it into a screenplay.
Worst / best thing about being a writer?
Worst: constant rejection of a script. Best: holding for the first time your book fresh off the press.
Why does John Banville use a pseudonym for writing crime?
To switch personality as well as style - switching names can help in that process.
The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Entertaining, thought provoking.

Sylvester Young’s Sleeping Dogs Lie is published in September by Raldon Books.

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