Declan Burke: Phoenix Park Football*

“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

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Phoenix Park Football*

A Minister for Propaganda Elf speaks:
Twenty Major is a blogger. As a result of his blogging, he got a book deal. The first book, THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX PARK, got a bit of a kicking in the Irish print media at the weekend, although The Dubliner magazine did him proud (right). So, in the general spirit of inter-textual flummery that seems to be abroad at the moment, we hereby republish Bridget Hourican’s comprehensive review in full. Just click on the pic to read. We thank you for your cooperation.

This review is republished with the kind permission of The Dubliner.

* With apologies to Eamon Dunphy.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hmm, talk about damning him with faint praise...; March 7, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Declan Burke said...: Claire - I thought it was pretty strong, myself ... I certainly wouldn't turn up my nose at a full-page review like that. Cheers, Dec; March 7, 2008 at 3:38 PM
Laura said...: I think a lot of authors would be granted a little more leeway with their first novel, but the bottles were broken and firmly in hand in advance of the release of twenty's book probably because of his already high profile.

I'm still not sure if I'll read it, I can't even bring myself to comment on the blog it feels too much like butting in on a group of lads in the pub, but I agree that this is a well-rounded review and hopefully there will be more.

P.S. Twenty doesn't have a beard.; March 7, 2008 at 9:13 PM