Tag Archives: At Swim Two Birds

It dawned on me what this book reminds me of:  Heronymous Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights.  I’ve always loved that piece because it fascinates, there is so much going on at once that one cannot take it all in in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Not really into this book; there’s a lot else going on so that I’m easily diverted.  It’s also a matter of the way this book is written.  It’s like reading several novels at once–which, of course, it is. But I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Amazing to read; must have been near impossibly amazing to plan out, the beginning of the novel within the novel: Propped by pillows in his bed in the white light of an incandescent petrol lamp, Dermot Trellis adjusted the pimples … Continue reading → Continue reading →

O’Brien told us in the very first pages that this book would be like no other.  That it would be multi-layered with many beginnings and endings.  That its characters would be drawn from a well of personalities already established.  That … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Without that first bit of research I did on this, I might not have realized what is going on, but O’Brien, at his own pace, handles that: I was talking to a friend of yours last night, I said drily.  … Continue reading → Continue reading →

O’Brien, with this novel, has shown that he knows the conventional form and elements of story, and therefore has become quite expert at twisting and flaunting them.  His novel approach of the many-faceted seemingly unrelated plot paths is even more … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Okay, I admit that I had to check this out so I did just some quick research to figure out what was going on here.  While at another time in life I might have joyfully accepted without question, or perhaps … Continue reading → Continue reading →