Ah, ye olde blogosphere. Wot karma-type larks, eh Pip? You’re nice to people, they’re nice to you … No sooner had we hoisted a post on Irish crime fiction’s Florida faction – aka
Michael Haskins, under the great-grandparent ruling – than he goes and blogs about our humble offering
THE BIG O, to wit:
“Think of the ironic humour of Donald Westlake’s John Dortmunder novels, and throw in the black humour of a Carl Hiaasen Florida-misadventure novel. Mix up the humorous, determined, demented heroes and anti-heroes of these two fantastic authors and (I’m not done yet!) toss in some hardboiled writing, a lot like Elmore Leonard’s, and you have Declan Burke’s writing. Think of it as an Irish Stew of writing.”
An Irish stew, eh? That’s us, alright: thick, gloopy and, y’know, nutritious … Meanwhile, over at
It’s A Crime! Or A Mystery!, Crimefic has the latest instalment of her ‘Books for Christmas’, as recommended by page-blackeners of the crime fraternity. First off, the lovely Donna Moore – author of
GO TO HELENA HANDBASKET – cheats disgracefully by mentioning THE BIG O in a quick round-up of the books she
won’t be choosing, and then Brian McGilloway, he of
BORDERLANDS fame, pitches in with this:
“If I have to pick one, I couldn’t, so I’ll go for two. For a new discovery, I’d have to say Declan Burke’s THE BIG O, which I read in one sitting a few months back. This is an extremely funny crime novel that takes Irish crime fiction in a whole new direction. Under the cracking comedy of the book lurks some very subtle and highly skilful plotting and prose. 
Declan’s just got a US deal, so catch THE BIG O before it gets any bigger.”
Blimey! With all that good karma floating around, who needs Elf-Wonking Juice? Thank you kindly, people – feel the love …
Ah, ye olde blogosphere. Wot karma-type larks, eh Pip? You’re nice to people, they’re nice to you … No sooner had we hoisted a post on Irish crime fiction’s Florida faction – aka Michael Haskins, under the great-grandparent ruling – than he goes and blogs about our humble offering THE BIG O, to wit: 
It took me a little more than one sitting to read The Big O, but I was forced to get some sleep. I loved every laugh out loud moment and every wince! Can't wait for the next one (you do write more than a paragraph in six weeks don't you?!)
ReplyDeleteDeclan,
ReplyDeleteWill you remember us when you're very rich and famous?
Much obliged, ladies ... Laura? I'll have you know that I once wrote as many as three paragraphs in one week, although the second and third weren't much cop, and were one and two lines respectively. Ann? No. Cheers, Dec
ReplyDelete