“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

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Lingua Franca

It’s been a good month for Tana French (right), people. First her debut novel IN THE WOODS was nominated for an Edgar, then the Los Angeles Book Festival Awards, and then she was nominated for an Irish Book Award. Now, courtesy of The Rap Sheet, comes the news that IN THE WOODS has been nominated for ‘Best First Novel’ by The Strand Magazine, the full list of nominees running thusly:
• THE BLADE ITSELF by Marcus Sakey (St. Martin’s Minotaur)
• IN THE WOODS, by Tana French (Viking)
• THE MARK, by Jason Pinter (Mira Books)
• MISSING WITNESS, by Gordon Campbell (Morrow)
• WHEN ONE MAN DIES, by Dave White (Crown Publishing)
And not only that, but occasional CAP elf and head honcho at International Crime, Bernd Kochanowski, recently gave IN THE WOODS the ‘four-thumbs aloft’ review. It’s going to be a big ask for the ever-lovely Tana to repeat the performance with the sequel, THE LIKENESS, but we have faith in her. What’s that? Our humble opinions are worthless? Fair go. But maybe you’ll be more accommodating of Critical Mick’s verdict on what’s quickly becoming Irish crime fiction’s news story of the year …

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday, Dec!

Are you having the biggest birthday present in obstetrics yet?

If not, have a great birthday and appreciate that old heart rate for now. It's going to change again some time soon and get much faster...

My best to you both and I'm thinking of you.

Ray Banks said...

Evil Grand Vizier, many happy returns. I knew it was your birthday because we had a foul snowstorm. I can only believe that Mrs Grand Vizier gave you control over the weather as a present.

Declan Burke said...

Thank 'ee kindly, folks. Rhian? Like the refugees in Casablaca, we wait, and wait, and wait. And wait. Ray - it's not so much that the Grand Vizier controls the weather as it tends to reflect his mood. Foul snow storms when he turns 39, so it'll probably be earthquakes and tsunamis when he hits 40. Cheers, Dec