“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 9, 2007

“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.

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