Meet My Maker the Mad Molecule

by J.P. Donleavy

'In this book of short pieces Donleavy has given us the lyric poems to go with his epics. They are almost all elegies -- sad songs of decayed hope, bitter little jitterbuggings of an exasperated soul, with barracuda bites of lacerating humour he brings blood-red into the gray of fate. These stories and sketches move between Europe and America, New York and Dublin and London. America is always the spoiled paradise, the land of the curdled milk and maggoty honey. The place that used to get you in the end, but that now does it in the beginning.' Newsweek 'The stories are swift, imaginative, beautiful and funny, and no contemporary writer is better than J. P. Donleavy at his best.' The New Yorker

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

James Patrick Donleavy was an Irish American author, born to Irish immigrants. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II after which he moved to Ireland. In 1946 he began studies at Trinity College, Dublin, but left before taking a degree. He was first published in the Dublin literary periodical, Envoy.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.P._Don...

Reviews

[Julia Cullen]

I got this at Elvis Shakespeare because I liked the cover and title. I enjoyed the stories as they were digestible and sad. I liked how people had names like Alphonse A, Franz F, and Gustav G. I think Franz F was my favourite. I liked the shifting settings and I liked the descriptions of New York. Unfortunately short stories one after the other just bore me a bit, but I could definitely read a novel by this guy because I like his style!

[Mike Marsbergen]

My new favourite anthology. Never before has an anthology made me laugh so hard, cry such tender tears, feel such disgust and pity, or weird me out so much. Every story is a gem, and nothing overstayed its welcome. If only it lasted longer. Donleavy is a master of the word. I can't recommend this (or him) enough. A fantastic introduction to the man's work, if you've not read any of his stuff.

[Graham P]

While this collection is marred by too many ultra-short pieces (before flash fiction) that nick the surface and dissolve from memory shortly after reading, there are three stories that really show Donleavy as masterful. Balancing two elements of writing that can drown a story one way or the other, Donleavy succeeds at weaving the melancholic and the satirical.

'A Fairy Tale of New York', 'Franz F' and especially 'Whither Wigwams' - all taking place in Manhattan and Boston, and focusing on a disillusioned traveler, the stranger in a strange land, the academic/the artist without place, without home. In 'Fairy Tale' an ex-Pat is on a journey from the UK back to his birthplace of New York City, mainly to show his wife 'the great land', America - but the wife falls ill on the boat and once docking in lower Manhattan, she's carted off in a makeshift coffin. The story flawlessly shows this husband's outer and inner struggles as he meanders this strange city, trying to find a decent funeral home to give her a proper funeral. Comedic, absurd and yet leaden with a grey, pressing sadness. 'Franz F' moves north to Boston and Donleavy dips into the glum existence of a Russian immigrant in a slum of the North End. Franz has a roach problem, an aching heart, and he wonders if and when (if ever) he can make an acquaintance with one of the 'horse-faced women' of this city - the Brahmin class. Of course, things don't go as easily as they appear in his daydreams. And 'Whither Wigwams' - mainly a wounded love song to New York City, and how it is inspirational a city, yet also parasitic. The characters thrust themselves through the constant flow of the city only to yearn for a new land, a new life in Europe, but most of them can't find a way out of the endless streets, subway stops, bars and nightclubs. And if they stay they know that their options are limited: the middle-class, the train tracks of the MTA, or the corridors of Bellevue mental hosptial. Tragic at points, but with an ending so absurdly uplifting.

If it weren't for these three tales, then the collection would be strictly for Donleavy completists. Otherwise, if I were teaching short fiction, 'A Fairy Tale' would surely be on the list.

[Dan Leo]

{This made me laugh aloud on the stationary bike at the gym, the narrator remembering bibulous evenings in Dublin…}

“The mad parties, the like of which had never been seen before and not since. Of two types. One where the evening was jolly and ended up with the wielding of bottles. The other where it was sad and ended up with the wielding of bottles.”

[Paul M.]

Funny and touching

I am a Donleavy fan. The short stories areas funny and poignant as his novels. They may seem a little dated to some modern readers, but still enjoyable excellent writing.

[Anna]

There were a few stories I quite enjoyed (The Mad Molecule, One for Yes, A Fairy Tale of New York) but most were duds to me, unfortunately. Was fun to encounter a short story about the Oxford-Cambridge boat race, though.