“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
Friday, May 11, 2007
Funky Friday’s Free-For-All: In Which ‘Fab’ Vinnie Browne Opens A Can Of ChateauNeuf du Pape Whup-Ass On Bertie's Pert Buns
Goodbye, Queen Of Hearts ... Hello Eoin McNamee!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
The Weekly Seamus Smyth Update: No One, But No One, Is Bigger In Japan
This Week We're Reading ... Sideswipe and Skinny Dip
Lost Classic # 74: Bogmail, Patrick McGinley
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Quote Of The Day: Yet More Notes From A Dirty Old Man
"I want Celine," she said. "I've got to have him."
Such a sexy voice, it was getting to me, really.
"Celine?" I said. "Give me a bit of background. Talk to me, lady. Keep talking ..."
"Zip up," she said.
I looked down.
"How did you know?" I asked ...
Anyhoo, Hank Bukowski is our nomination for today's quote of the day - or any day, for that matter. Take it away, Hank: "When you leave your typewriter you leave your machine gun and the rats come pouring through." Amen, brother.
Nobody Move, This Is A Review: The Caller, Alex Barclay (HarperCollins) ***
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. And A Corpse Or Two About The Place, Apparently
“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?” # 313: Colin Bateman
Yep, it's rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire pick-'n'-mix Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...
What crime novel would you most like to have written?
The Silence of the Lambs. And I suspect it would have been funnier.
Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
Been reading Sherlock Holmes recently on holiday. Kept leaving it in the bar and the bar maid kept having to track me down. She was good.
Most satisfying writing moment?
The first book, always the first book. And the Oscar, of course. (What, did I dream that?)
The best Irish crime novel is …?
Modesty forbids. Was Wilkie Collins Irish? I read The Moonstone recently and loved it.
What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
Modesty forbids. Certainly not The Moonstone.
Worst / best thing about being a writer?
The sex and the drugs. And the best: well, it's all a dream come true, so I'm happy.
Why does John Banville use a pseudonym for writing crime?
Because he's ashamed, and smug at the same time. Unless of course I meet him.
The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Must try harder.
Colin Bateman's I Predict A Riot is available now at all good bookshops, and quite a few of the utterly shite ones too.
The Book Of Evidence: In Which Blandville Solemnly Swears To Tell Nothing But The Pseudonymous Truth
They Say The Neville Has All The Best Tunes
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
The Monday Review - But Lawks! 'Tis A Tuesday!
Everybody Be Cool, This Is A Con
What fresh lunacy is this? Seems Dublin-based anti-hero collective CONMAN has got a movie on the go about an, erm, Dublin-based anti-hero who ... oh, just watch the bloody trailer. The critics' verdict? "CONMAN has got the movie critics agreeing on one thing – this is the nearest we’ve ever come to an Irish Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels," says, well, yep, you've guessed it ... CONMAN! Jump here for some more $uspiciously con-tastic info ...
Monday, May 7, 2007
The Embiggened O # 9,407: Hell, Even Critical Mick Has Us On His Nightstand!
*In the interests of transparency, accountability, yadda-yadda-blah, we should really point out that Declan Burke writes movie reviews for Village magazine. But he's definitely not Edward O'Hare. And he hasn't paid for Edward O'Hare to have a new fitted kitchen in, oh, it must be weeks now.