The Best of Myles (John F. Byrne Irish Literature Series)
by Flann O'Brien
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 93)
Read in June, 2000
A good deal of this collection was beyond my comprehension -- being firmly rooted in a time and place that I have scant knowledge of. What can you expect of a book that consists of thirty years' work by a newspaper columnist (and novelist), however brilliant? However, even though the average reader isn't privileged to understand all the references Myles makes to local concerns, at times his columns hit a mark of comic brilliance that is unmatched.
Consider, for example, several columns dev...more
Consider, for example, several columns dev...more
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Read in January, 1979
Besides writing novels under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien, Brian O'Nolan also wrote a regular column for the Irish Times under the name Myles na gCopaleen ("Myles of the Little Horses"). This book collects some of the best ones. They tend to be sarcastic observations on Dublin life in the 1940s-50s, which might seem pretty arcane, but just as you don't have to live in Chicago to appreciate Dave Barry, you don't have to be a Dubliner to enjoy Myles. The persona he creates for himself wou...more
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Read in January, 1990
I'm on my second copy of this book - I read and re-read the first copy until it fell apart. O'Brien's daily newspaper column in the Irish Times was an outlet for an under-appreciated intellectual talent. There's everything here from anarchic humour to social satire and dry wit, always flavoured with a hearty contempt for pretension in all its forms.
Humorous prose at its finest.
Humorous prose at its finest.
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recommended to Maureen by:
Grania
Highlights from Cruiskeen Lawn, Brian O'Nolan / Flann O'Brien's column in the Irish Times that ran from 1940 to 1966. This is the most fun way to read O'Brien - you can dip in and out and most of it will be whip-smart and top-notch. And, it being a scattered collection of writing, you can skip over the bits which aren't.
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Simply the best collection available of one of the funniest writers in the English (and, for that matter, Irish) language. A number of the pieces in this are amongst the funniest, most skillful, and elegant humor pieces I've ever read, and there's some to-rate criticism in here, too.
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I haven't read nearly enough Irish literature. This is actually columns that were in the Irish Times by Flann O'Brien, writing under the name Myles Na Gopaleen. It is brilliant and damn funny.
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This book is among a very small number of books which always make me laugh.
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Highlights of Flann O'Brien's columns for the Irish Times, very funny.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.26 (74 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.19 (62 ratings) number of reviews: 9
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