“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

Monday, March 16, 2009

As Well Read I Well May Be

It being Paddy’s Day tomorrow, or St Patrick’s Day, or – as it was in Georgia, when I was there for the Irish knees-up a few years ago – Patty’s Day, here’s a few choice Irish novels to watch out for in 2009. To wit:
MYSTERY MAN, Bateman;*
TOWER, Ken Bruen / Reed Farrel Coleman;
THE LOVERS, John Connolly;
WINTERLAND, Alan Glynn;
ALL THE DEAD VOICES, Declan Hughes;
DARK TIMES IN THE CITY, Gene Kerrigan;*
BLEED A RIVER DEEP, Brian McGilloway;*
FIFTY GRAND, Adrian McKinty;*
THE TWELVE, Stuart Neville;
  Apologies, by the way, if the list seems very male, but there’s nary a whisper of a novel forthcoming from the doyennes of Irish crime fic, Alex Barclay, Tana French, Julie Parsons – although we’re assured that there’ll be another Arlene Hunt on a shelf near you by October. Huzzah!
  I’ve already reviewed those asterisked; for more, clickety-click here … and happy Paddy’s Day, people, and particularly to those exiles who can’t be home for the debauchery. I trust you’ll all do us (hic) proud ...
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