“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

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The Embiggened O # 1,012: The White Trash Verdict Is In!

How do we love thee, Patrick Shawn Bagley (right)? Let us count the ways … Well, for starters there’s the fact that he runs an interweb yokeybus called Hillbillies and Hitmen. And is a self-confessed ‘Fat bastard and white-trash raconteur’. But mainly we’re loving the hup-ya he gave our humble offering, THE BIG O, on the aforementioned H&H. To wit:
“Belated thanks to the family Jordan for sending me a free copy of Declan Burke’s second novel, THE BIG O, a few weeks ago. It’s one hell of a read, with a plot that never slows down long enough for the reader to take a breath. Had Dutch Leonard been born in Sligo, he might have written something like this. I have a new writer to add to my list of favourites.”
A thumbs-up from the white-trash hillbilly demographic? Criminy, we’d better retire now. Like, how could it possibly get any better?

4 comments:

colman said...

does he play DUELLING BANJOS ?
Second thoughts don't ask him, he's tooooooooooo scaaaarrreeeeyy

Patrick Shawn Bagley said...

You know you've arrived when hicks are reading your stuff. I'm telling all my friends to spend their week's scratch-ticket money for copies of THE BIG O instead.

Do I play DUELLING BANJOS? Only on Valentine's Day.

colman said...

LOL........how romantic!

Declan Burke said...

Patrick? Don't diss the hicks - I'm from the northwest of Ireland. Solidarity, brothers ... Colman? You're kidding no one with the Duelling Banjos carry-on - we know you've an accordion stashed in the attic. Although, in saying that, the definition of a gentleman is a man who can play the accordion, and doesn't ...