Flann O'Brien

From the author of the classic novel ‘At-Swim-Two-Birds’ comes this ingenious tale which follows the mad and absurd ambitions of a scientist determined to destroy the world. Flann O'Brien's third novel, 'The Dalkey Archive' is a riotous depiction of the extraordinary events surrounding theologian and mad scientist De Selby's attempt to destroy the world by removing all the oxygen from the atmosphere. Only Michael Shaughnessy, 'a lowly civil servant', and James Joyce, alive and well and working as a barman in the nearby seaside resort of Skerries, can stop the inimitable De Selby in his tracks.

Hailed as "the best comic fantasy since "Tristram Shandy" upon its publication in 1964, "The Dalkey Archive," is Flann O'Brien's fifth and final novel; or rather (as O'Brien wrote to his editor), "The book is not meant to be a novel or anything of the kind but a study in derision, various writers with their styles, and sundry modes, attitudes and cults being the rats in the cage." Among the targets of O'Brien's derision are religiosity, intellectual abstractions, J. W. Dunne's and Albert Einstein's views on time and relativity, and the lives and works of Saint Augustine and James Joyce, both of whom have speaking parts in the novel. Bewildering? Yes, but as O'Brien insists, "a measure of bewilderment is part of the job of literature."

Hulvaton klassikko vihdoin suomeksi! Hullu kuningas puussa on todellinen mestariteos ja muutaman James Joycen teoksen ohella kuuluisin 1900-luvulla kirjoitettu irlantilainen kirja. Romaani kertoo nuoresta, laiskasta ja jatkuvasti juopuneesta irlantilaisopiskelijasta, joka asuu kiukkuisen setänsä kanssa Dublinissa. Niinä harvoina hetkinään, joita päähenkilö ei vietä nukkuen tai nenä kiinni kirjassa, hän kynäilee sattumustentäyteistä romaania Dermot Trellis -nimisestä henkilöstä - kakkosluokan kirjailijasta, jonka henkilöhahmot tuntuvat käyvän alati tätä vastaan. Nämä Irlannin mytologiasta tutut hahmot keksivät milloin mitäkin kirjailijan päänmenoksi, vastineeksi kelvottomasta tekstintuotannosta, esimerkiksi huumaavat hänet unessaan tai romauttavat katon hänen päänsä päälle. Flann O'Brien (1911-1966) on 1900-luvun merkittävimpiä irlantilaisia kirjailijoita. Teoksen suomentaja Kristiina Drews sai edellisen O'Brienin teoksen suomentamisesta valtionpalkinnon.

(Welsh translation of Flann O'Brien's post-modern masterpiece The Third Policeman)Flann O'BrienY Trydydd PlismonFlann O'Brien (1911-1966) oedd un o ffugenwau Brian O'Nolan, un o ffigyrau mwyaf blaenllaw llenyddiaeth Wyddelig a llenyddiaeth l-fodernaidd yn yr iaith Saesneg. Ysgrifennodd nofelau a dram u yn y Wyddeleg a'r Saesneg. Ei nofel yn Saesneg The Third Policeman yw un o'i weithiau mwyaf adnabyddus heddiw, ond er iddo gwblhau'r nofel yn 1940, ni chafodd ei chyhoeddi nes 1967, flwyddyn ar l marw'r awdur, ac bellach fe'i hystyrir yn gampwaith ac yn un o weithiau llenyddol mawr cyntaf l-foderniaeth.

The Poor Mouth relates the story of one Bonaparte O'Coonassa, born in a cabin in a fictitious village called Corkadoragha in western Ireland equally renowned for its beauty and the abject poverty of its residents. Potatoes constitute the basis of his family's daily fare, and they share both bed and board with the sheep and pigs. A scathing satire on the Irish, this work brought down on the author's head the full wrath of those who saw themselves as the custodians of Irish language and tradition when it was first published in Gaelic in 1941.

The Third Policeman is Flann O'Brien's brilliantly dark comic novel about the nature of time, death, and existence.Told by a narrator who has committed a botched robbery and brutal murder, the novel follows him and his adventures in a two-dimensional police station where, through the theories of the scientist/philosopher de Selby, he is introduced to "Atomic Theory" and its relation to bicycles, the existence of eternity (which turns out to be just down the road), and de Selby's view that the earth is not round but "sausage-shaped." With the help of his newly found soul named "Joe, " he grapples with the riddles and contradictions that three eccentric policeman present to him.The last of O'Brien's novels to be published, The Third Policeman joins O'Brien's other fiction (At Swim-Two-Birds, The Poor Mouth, The Hard Life, and The Dalkey Archive) to ensure his place, along with James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, as one of Ireland's great comic geniuses.

Along with one or two books by James Joyce, Flann O'Brien's At Swim-Two-Birds is the most famous (and infamous) of Irish novels published in the twentieth century. A wildly comic send-up of Irish literature and culture, At Swim-Two-Birds is the story of a young, lazy, and frequently drunk Irish college student who lives with his curmudgeonly uncle in Dublin. When not in bed (where he seems to spend most of his time) or reading he is composing a mischief-filled novel about Dermot Trellis, a second-rate author whose characters ultimately rebel against him and seek vengeance. From drugging him as he sleeps to dropping the ceiling on his head, these figures of Irish myth make Trellis pay dearly for his bad writing. Hilariously funny and inventive, At Swim-Two-Birds has influenced generations of writers, opening up new possibilities for what can be done in fiction. It is a true masterpiece of Irish literature.

An unprecedented gathering of the correspondence of one of the great writers of the twentieth century, The Collected Letters of Flann O’Brien presents an intimate look into the life and thought of Brian O’Nolan, a prolific author of novels, stories, sketches, and journalism who famously wrote and presented works to the reading public under a variety of pseudonyms. Spanning the years 1934 to 1966, these compulsively readable letters show us O’Nolan, or O’Brien, or Myles Na gCopaleen, or whatever his name may be, at his most cantankerous and profound. Edited by Maebh Long, Senior Lecturer of English, University of Waikato NZ , author of Assembling Flann O’Brien.

This riotous collection at last gathers together an expansive selection of Flann O'Brien's shorter fiction in a single volume, as well as O'Brien's last and unfinished novel, "Slattery's Sago Saga." Also included are new translations of several stories originally published in Irish, and other rare pieces. With some of these stories appearing here in book form for the very first time, and others previously unavailable for decades, "Short Fiction" is a welcome gift for every Flann O'Brien fan worldwide.

Myles Before Myles is a wonderfully funny selection of writings from the pen of Brian O’Nolan (aka Flann O’Brien, Myles na Gopaleen, George Knowall). In this fun-filled extravaganza he is, above all, an entertainer, a ‘gas man’. Like much of O’Nolan’s most entertaining work, the pieces in this did not originally appear in book form, but in periodicals and newspapers that are now almost impossible to find. Myles Before Myles reveals that some of his wittiest and most unusual were published years before Myles na Gopaleen (or Flann O’Brien) had even been born, and were destined to lie in almost complete obscurity for many decades.

Flann O’Brien (Brian O’Nolan, aka Myles na Gopaleen) adopted not only a new name (George Knowall) for these rarely seen pieces, but also a new persona. Writing his column ‘Bones of Contention’ for the Nationalist and Leinster Times, he took on the character of the quizzical and enquiring humorist who might be found in a respectable public house in Carlow: erudite, urbane and informative, he is the country cousin of the Myles of Dublin, yet still a facet of the complex character who wrote The Third Policeman and At Swim-Two-Birds. His delight in words, his uncanny ability to see through humbug, are unparalleled. Writers as disparate as James Joyce, Dylan Thomas, Graham Greene and Anthony Burgess have marvelled at his talent. New readers will discover that he is one of the funniest writers in any language, at any time.

Begreifen Sie meine List, meine doppelte Doppelzüngigkeit, mein Spiel mit der Ignoranz und der Leichtgläubigkeit! Ist es ein Wunder, daß ich die Banklaufbahn eingeschlagen habe?" "Auf das Fabulieren - und zwar in seiner grenzenlosesten Form - hat sich kaum ein Romancier so vortrefflich verstanden wie Flann OBrien. Mit Aberwitz, einer Mischung aus Farce und Philosophie, skurril aufbereitetem Bildungsvorrat und jeder Menge wortseligen Unsinns hat er eine Bücher angefüllt." (Der Spiegel) Anna Mikula und Harry Rowohlt haben die wunderbarsten Boshaftigkeiten und Spitzfindigkeiten aus dem Gesamtwerk Flann OBriens ausgewählt und zu einer unterhaltsamen Lektüre zusammengestellt.

Det finst få verkeleg store humoristar i 1900-talslitteraturen, men Flann O'Brien (eg. Brien O'Nolan 1911-1967) er ein av dei. Tydeleg inspirert av James Joyce gav han i 1939 ut romanen At Swim-two-birds (På svøm-to-fugler), som begeistra framståande samtidige . Joyce sjølv, men òg Graham Greene og Jorge Luis Borges. Den tredje politimannen, skriven i 1940, kom aldri ut medan han levde. Han påstod at han hadde mista manuskriptet på bussen eller puben eller trikken, men det er meir sannsynleg at han la det vekk etter at det blei refusert. O'Brien gav ut ein roman på irsk, An Béal Bocht, i 1941, også den ei fantastisk morosam bok, og han gav ut fleire romaner, noveller og skodespel etter krigen. Men det var særleg då Den tredje politimannen endeleg kom ut i 1967 at han fekk ry som ein betydeleg skjønnlitterær forfattar. Det er dei tidlege romanane som har gjeve O'Brien nemninga "den første post-modernist". Tematiseringa av fiksjonen, og spelet med autensitet og røyndom er i desse bøkene på ein unik måte kobla saman med den store irske forteljartradisjonen.

A definitive compilation of novels by the acclaimed twentieth-century Irish author features the acclaimed At Swim-Two-Birds, a novel about a man writing a novel and the characters who revolt against their author, as well as The Third Policeman, The Poor Mouth, The Hard Life, and The Dalkey Archive.

"På svøm-to-fugler" er historien om en ung, lat og ofte full irsk collegestudent som bor sammen med sin eneste onkel i Dublin. Når han ikke leser eller er i seng,- hvor han ser ut til å tilbringe mesteparten av tiden sin, skriver han en rampete roman om Dermot Trellis, en annenrangs forfatter hvis karakterer til slutt gjør opprør mot ham og søker hevn. Fra å dope ham mens han sover til å slippe taket på hodet hans, får disse figurene fra irsk myte Trellis til å betale dyrt for sitt dårlige forfatterskap. Hyggelig og morsom, "På svøm-to-fugler" har påvirket generasjoner av forfattere, og åpnet nye muligheter for hva som kan gjøres innen skjønnlitteratur. Det er et sant mesterverk av irsk litteratur. Opprinnelig utgitt i 1939.

In the five novels by Ireland's greatest comic writer we can explore the full range of his invention, from the multi-layered madness of At Swim-Two-Birds to the piercing realism of The Hard Life and the surreal logic of The Third Policeman. This is a world where bicycles listen to conversations, inventors search formethods of 'diluting' water, and characters play truant while novelists sleep; a world where spiteful fairies wreak havoc and heroes from legend blunder into suburban sitting-rooms. This is recognizably the Ireland of Joyce and Beckett - rowdy, high-spirited, by turns sensual and and cerebral -transformed by O'Brien's unique vision.

"A feast of a book." The Independent

'Wonderful. The Third Policeman is a great masterpiece of black humour.' George Mackay Brown

-- Paperback original.-- First U.S. edition. British publication by Hart-Davis, McGibbon Ltd ('76).-- A companion to The Best of Myles, Further Cuttings culls more scathing selections from Cruiskeen Lawn, Flann O'Brien's column in the Irish Times written under the pseudonym Myles na Gopaleen.-- This volume covers the years 1947-1957 and finds O'Brien's alter ego clashing with the law on numerous charges, including larceny, using bad language, and marrying without the consent of his parents. It also includes several bizarre obituaries, witty criticisms of George Bernard Shaw, Sean O' Faolain, and other literary figures, the return of the preposterous Brother, and the first article ever ascribed to Myles (published in 1940).