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(More customer reviews)On the dust jacket for The Complete Novels of Flann O'Brien, the author is lumped in with Samuel Beckett and James Joyce, perhaps the two most famous figures in Irish literature. It's lofty company to be sure, but for most Beckett and especially Joyce are tough mountains to climb. I will readily admit that a lot of what is going with the works of Beckett and Joyce go over my head. I needed a guide to really get Ulysses, and Beckett's works are almost as tough. O'Brien's work is much more palpable though. I enjoy some of the works inspired by Joyce much more than Joyce, and O'Brien falls in to that category.
If you're thinking of purchasing this, your probably already familiar with the contents to some degree, so I won't go in to to much detail concerning the characteristics of each novel. The first two novels in the collection, At Swims Two Birds and the Third Policeman are the strongest of the bunch. Both can be seen as a kind of proto-postmodernism and both are among the best examples of meta-fiction I have read. They are also both really funny and bizarre, and the second one is very dark and chilling as well. The other three novels are all good, but they are generally more pessimistic and less fun to read.
The Everyman's Library edition is fairly affordable and a nice purchase if you're a fan of his work. If you're a fan of Irish Literature then this is also a must read. O'Brien is a very good and very funny writer. He deserves the lofty company the blurb on the dust jacket ascribed to him.
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