A wildly comic send-up of Irish literature and culture, At Swim-Two-Birdsis the story of a young, lazy, and frequently drunk Irish collegestudent w...
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Jan 13, 2010
Ok, it's official: I got to page 127, and I GIVE UP.
There were parts at the beginning of this book which I quite enjoyed. Unfortunately, after slogging through the last 80 or so pages of random witterings, I can't remember what they were or why I enjoyed them. A few casual impressions that I was left with:
1. "What do you read, my lord?
Words, words, words."
-HAMLET, Act II, scene 2
2. I am reasonably certain that, had I read this boo More...
There were parts at the beginning of this book which I quite enjoyed. Unfortunately, after slogging through the last 80 or so pages of random witterings, I can't remember what they were or why I enjoyed them. A few casual impressions that I was left with:
1. "What do you read, my lord?
Words, words, words."
-HAMLET, Act II, scene 2
2. I am reasonably certain that, had I read this boo More...
Mar 20, 2010
David
rated it: 
Flann O'Brien is surely Ireland's most neglected writer. Though his talent was on a par with the genius of his contemporaries, Joyce and Beckett, he has never come close to achieving the same degree of recognition. There are several possible explanations for this. The simplest is that Joyce and Beckett managed to cut the umbilical cord - though Mother Ireland featured large in their writing, they both managed to make an escape, living the latter part of their lives in exile. This might not seem
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Jul 30, 2008
Jason
rated it:
Okay, I was supposed to read this mother in grad school, but I was too busy: drinking or playing basketball or eating lunch with Chad or working out or trying to sleep with one of my classmates/students/neighbors or the vaguely French-looking chick at Al's that played rad songs on the jukebox. In any case I didn't read much of it then because, well, it is a difficult book for all-time fuckups to read. Here's the deal, I read it today. All of it. In one day. Why? Because it is fucking hilarious a
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Nov 12, 2007
Nick
rated it: 
I didn't finish this book--which is very rare for me--because I just didn't like it that much. I got about halfway through, which I felt like a real achievement considering how slow-going it is. I've read some slow books in my day but usually there's a substitute for a practically plotless novel: humor, stylistic beauty, philosophic depth, etc. Although some think this is a hilarious book, I didn't find even a tenth as entertaining as "The Third Policeman." And even though O'Brien is a
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Jan 29, 2012
Borbality
rated it: 
Some really silly shit. This is a truly rare feat of language and wit. I've never seen anything like it.
It's the kind of writing where you don't care how little is being said or if it even makes sense. Sadly, the end of it actually didn't make sense and nothing was really wrapped up, but it couldn't have been any other way.
I'm not sure if this one would be better or worse if I was more familiar with the characters it borrowed from, but I think it's good enough that it do More...
It's the kind of writing where you don't care how little is being said or if it even makes sense. Sadly, the end of it actually didn't make sense and nothing was really wrapped up, but it couldn't have been any other way.
I'm not sure if this one would be better or worse if I was more familiar with the characters it borrowed from, but I think it's good enough that it do More...
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Jan 03, 2012
I'm glad I can write a review of this without giving it a rating, that's for sure. The last thing I need is to be assaulted by legions of self-consciously intellectual and/or hip readers decrying my inability to 'get it,' because I gave a crappy rating to a probably interesting book. Instead I can write a review which such readers won't bother reading and perhaps save you the effort of picking the book up, or, alternatively, help you discover that this is a book of the type that you enjoy.
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Jun 29, 2010
Bruce
rated it:
The unnamed narrator, a dissolute university student badly neglecting his studies, explains to his friends-in-drink, with countless diversions, the novel he is writing about Mr. Delmot Trellis, a slothful and dissolute inhabitant of an inn, who in turn is writing a novel about a character, inter alia, who is born middle-aged. Our primary narrator describes, among other information, his theory of writing novels, including his conviction that characters need not be developed de novo but should be
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Oct 05, 2009
Orionisisgray
rated it:
Wow! What a find! We've heard of James Joyce but not this fellow, and I submit to you that there is no good reason for that other than a twist of history. Namely, O'Brien did not leave Ireland, sticking around to slog it out in a cultural vacuum while his contemporaries mucked about England and mainland Europe getting famous and selling tomes.
This book surely changed fiction as we know it; he uses devices that are so fresh they are still fresh today, wonderfully weird and strangely s More...
This book surely changed fiction as we know it; he uses devices that are so fresh they are still fresh today, wonderfully weird and strangely s More...
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May 29, 2009
Mark
rated it:
First of all; beautifully written. Gass points out in his foreword that it's not merely parody because it 'excels the original'. Whether or not it excels is besides the point; it's delicious writing.
The first Fifty pages or so didn't grab me, but once Furriskey was born proper the book kind of just slayed me to the end. Really grand.
I was confused while reading it as to whether or not Flann O'Brien had a point or not; whether he had some big...'thing'...behind him (like, of c More...
The first Fifty pages or so didn't grab me, but once Furriskey was born proper the book kind of just slayed me to the end. Really grand.
I was confused while reading it as to whether or not Flann O'Brien had a point or not; whether he had some big...'thing'...behind him (like, of c More...
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May 08, 2009
Libby
rated it:
If I was to be stranded on a desert island for the rest of my life and could only take one book with me this would be it. It is so complex and rich that every new reading reveals details previously missed and perspectives not previously considered. The Pooka MacPhellimey and the Good Fairy are just genius.
"Afterwards, near Lad Lañe Pólice Station a small man in black fell in with us and tapping me often about the chest, talked to me earnestly on the subject of Rousseau, a membe More...
"Afterwards, near Lad Lañe Pólice Station a small man in black fell in with us and tapping me often about the chest, talked to me earnestly on the subject of Rousseau, a membe More...
Nov 12, 2011
Liz
rated it: 
At Swim - Two Birds = Are Reading - Three Novels
That's exactly what the novel is, three in one.
A student of literature, the character who remains un- named, believes that one beginning and one end, is "boring ".
Before reading this, I got lost in reading it. I wondered if the file I downloaded was corrupt and I was missing parts, or if it was the wrong book all together.. until thanks to Wikipedia; It made some sense. Until then, I'll admit.. I thought I overdosed More...
That's exactly what the novel is, three in one.
A student of literature, the character who remains un- named, believes that one beginning and one end, is "boring ".
Before reading this, I got lost in reading it. I wondered if the file I downloaded was corrupt and I was missing parts, or if it was the wrong book all together.. until thanks to Wikipedia; It made some sense. Until then, I'll admit.. I thought I overdosed More...
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Feb 24, 2011
Mike
rated it:
It’s appropriate that the name on the cover of At Swim-Two-Birds isn’t Brian O’Nolan, the Irish writer born 5 October, 1911, deceased 1 April, 1966. O’Nolan used pennames for nearly everything he wrote, including periodicals in the Irish Times as Myles na gCopaleen and novels as Flann O’Brien. Thus, before you even open the cover of At Swim-Two-Birds, a/Authority is called into question. And man, it only gets zanier.
@S2B is about an unnamed university student in Dublin writing a book a More...
@S2B is about an unnamed university student in Dublin writing a book a More...
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Jul 28, 2011
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 04, 2011
Northpapers
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Dec 02, 2011
Liam
rated it:
The Book lays its cards on the table early on. (And in this case writing about The Book as a sentient being is not a mistake).
"One beginning and one ending for a book was a thing I did not agree with. A good book may have three openings entirely dissimilar and inter-related only in the prescience of the author, or for that matter one hundred times as many endings."
A few pages later it gives its characters a charter of rights:"...a satisfactory novel should be a More...
"One beginning and one ending for a book was a thing I did not agree with. A good book may have three openings entirely dissimilar and inter-related only in the prescience of the author, or for that matter one hundred times as many endings."
A few pages later it gives its characters a charter of rights:"...a satisfactory novel should be a More...
Oct 02, 2011
Bastet
rated it:
Flann O'Brien ha sido un descubrimiento tardío pero muy provechoso. En Nadar-dos-pájaros está considerada la obra maestra de este escritor irlandés contemporáneo de James Joyce, quien dijo de esta novela: "He aquí un auténtico escritor con auténtico espíritu cómico. Un libro realmente divertido". Pese a que el editor estaba entusiasmado con esta obra, que comparó con el Tristram Shandy de Sterne y el Ulises de Joyce, tuvo mala suerte. El propio O'Brien lo explicaba con estas palabras:
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Mar 15, 2011
Esme
rated it:
Das ist "genau das richtige Buch für Deine Schwester, falls sie laut, schmutzig und versoffen ist" sagte Dylan Thomas über "At Swim-Two-Birds" ("Auf Schwimmen-zwei-Vögel").
Ein Dubliner Studenten schreibt einen Roman über Trellis, der seit zwanzig Jahren im Bett liegt, nur grüne Bücher liest und einen Roman schreibt. Die Romanfiguren werden dem ihnen aufgezwungenen Leben überdrüssig und schreiben einen Roman über Trellis, in dem sie sich rächen, "ihn m More...
Ein Dubliner Studenten schreibt einen Roman über Trellis, der seit zwanzig Jahren im Bett liegt, nur grüne Bücher liest und einen Roman schreibt. Die Romanfiguren werden dem ihnen aufgezwungenen Leben überdrüssig und schreiben einen Roman über Trellis, in dem sie sich rächen, "ihn m More...
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Jul 30, 2011
Jeff
rated it:
This is a writer's book. It's for those who are fascinated by the writing process and those who fear their creation or obsession could overwhelm them. Reading up on this book afterwards, I found out that most early fans were writers, but not so much the general public. Even Borges praised it in a famous essay When Fiction Lives in Fiction:
"At Swim Two Birds is not only a Labyrinth: it is a discussion of the many ways to Concieve the Irish novel and a repertory of exercises in p More...
"At Swim Two Birds is not only a Labyrinth: it is a discussion of the many ways to Concieve the Irish novel and a repertory of exercises in p More...
Jun 12, 2011
Frank
rated it:
I'm hard pressed to know what sort of aid or assistance I can offer at such a distinct distance, the exigencies of our electronic interface notwithstanding, in the interpretation, understanding, comprehension or elucidation of this or any work of literary worth. I myself am after just finishing said novel by a fellow named Flann O'Brien (well, actually Brian O'Nolan—in English that is, Brian Ó Nualláin, as Gaeilge, of which he was a native speaker) called At Swim-Two-Birds.
It's the More...
It's the More...
Feb 04, 2012
Tim
rated it:
A story of a slothful student who writes a story of a slothful novelist whose many characters rise up against him. To put it that way makes it seem straightforward and even dull. The story is neither of those things. The characters include Finn MacCool, the mad king Sweeny, a Pooka, a Good Fairy, two Irish cowboys, a pair of Irish gentleman, and a foreigner who was to be the villain. The story itself is at times hilarious and/or incomprehensible, mythic and poetic, and always full of talk.
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Aug 03, 2010
Adam
rated it:
This is a testament to why I love goodreads: I don't think I ever would have stumbled across this singularly unique gem without it.
The book almost defies review because it defies all literary conventions; however, it does so in such an overt and parodic manner that it never becomes tedious reading. I suppose it's like the ying to Beckett's yang--both completely discount plot, but one is lighthearted and comical while the other is laborious and depressing.
The absurdity More...
The book almost defies review because it defies all literary conventions; however, it does so in such an overt and parodic manner that it never becomes tedious reading. I suppose it's like the ying to Beckett's yang--both completely discount plot, but one is lighthearted and comical while the other is laborious and depressing.
The absurdity More...
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Dec 17, 2009
Pat
rated it:
This Gaelic treat is like the Irish stout: dark and thick but everything about it is a boozy good time. Plus, you'd be hard pressed to find any other book with an ancient Irish hero, a devil, an assortment of cowboys, and an entire ensemble of writers talking to each other like master conversationalists.
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Jan 22, 2012
Celine
rated it:
Got to be on an absurdest wavelength to love this crazy book. Thankfully I was. It is its beautiful beautiful use of language that grabbed me most I think, but funnily enough, despite its surreality, one of the things I most enjoyed about it was its realistic evocation of the old Dublin way of speaking and of sitting around shite-talking, drinking buckets of tea, eating bread and butter, and smoking rings around you. These are things so engrained in my memories of childhood that I actually began
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Jul 26, 2007
T
rated it:
Quite a let-down after the romping good times of The Third Policeman. Frankly, I hardly remember this book at all but I know I read it at one time because that is the only way to explain why I'm not looking forward to reading it in the future.
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Oct 07, 2011
matt
rated it:
Cannot wait to start this one. Highly recommended, a couple of fun little bookstore investigations, just chomping at the bit. This book is going to be amazing. I can tell already.
***
and it WAS great. I had it on a four star basis throughout most of the reading, due to the metafictional thing leaving me just the slightest bit dry and confused, just can't abide being TOO alienated from the story. But the last 20 pages brought me back and achieved an unexpected tenderne More...
***
and it WAS great. I had it on a four star basis throughout most of the reading, due to the metafictional thing leaving me just the slightest bit dry and confused, just can't abide being TOO alienated from the story. But the last 20 pages brought me back and achieved an unexpected tenderne More...
May 27, 2009
chris
rated it:
For most of this book, I was amazed by the strange split between the complex structure of a novel in a novel in a novel where characters are part of the worlds of their authors and what people are writing becomes what is happening, and the goofy, snide tone of the novel, in which sections run on and on without ever seeming like they're going to end and go off on tangents that don't seem to have anything to do with anything.
Unfortunately, in the last little bit of the novel, the tangents ov More...
Unfortunately, in the last little bit of the novel, the tangents ov More...
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Nov 06, 2010
Victoria
rated it: 
What a strange and different sort of book! This was a gift, and the premise of a book-within-a-book was quite interesting. I must admit that it did take me a little while to become accustomed to its rather unorthodox style, but there were many genuinely entertaining parts to it. Unfortunately, there were also some rather dull sections. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had more background knowledge of some of the Irish myths and legends the book played off of - and if I had a greater app
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Nov 08, 2009
bobby
rated it:
From this book I learned that I don't know shit about Ireland. The parts that aren't teaching me this are making me laugh. This may be due to the fact that I aspire to be an arrogant layabout.
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Oct 06, 2011
Edneppp
rated it:
One of my college professors once told us that it was his mission in life to convince as many people as possible to read At Swim-Two-Birds. I've read this book 2.5 times and still don't understand it. I will say, however, that it is undoubtedly one of those books that sticks with you. It's so complexly layered and mysterious that you can't help recommending it to other people, if only on the off-chance that you can discuss it with them once they've finished it. I highly recommend this book to an
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Dec 27, 2010
Lisa
rated it:
Hilarious,witty, innovative ...why has it taken me so long to read this?
See my review http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/2010/1...
See my review http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/2010/1...
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