“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, June 20, 2008

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?” # 2,019: Ed Lynskey

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?

HELL HATH NO FURY by Charles Williams, a 1953 noir classic about a smouldering small town and the desperate characters living there and double-crossing each other.
What fictional character would you most like to have been?
Nick Carroway had it pretty cool with Gatsby and the New York social elite.
Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
Pulp Westerns.
Most satisfying writing moment?
When the check in the mail finally arrives in my mailbox.
The best Irish crime novel is . . .?
I don’t know if it’s necessarily Irish, but I enjoyed reading Ken Bruen’s AMERICAN SKIN a lot.
What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
Any title by Ken Bruen, if it hasn’t already been filmed.
Worst/best thing about being a writer?
Worst thing is writing the first sentence. Best thing is writing the last sentence.
The pitch for your next book is . . . ?
Can a Mafia loan shark survive working in Washington D.C.?
Who are you reading right now?
James Lee Burke’s post-Katrina New Orleans sage, THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN.
God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
Read. Writing is too hard for me.
The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Smooth. Fast. Vivid.

Ed Lynskey’s PELHAM FELL HERE will be published by the Mundania Press in July

No comments: