Will I love At Swim, Two Boys?

Set against and interlaced with the doomed 1916 Irish rebellion against British domination, we have a doomed love affair of two young boys. That was before gay was the word, and a time and place, where gay was definitely not good. This was the second time I read it. I can't think of another book that left me in tears on the last page. I cried the second timet, too.

This is my favorite novel of all time, bar none.

The sweeping saga of two seemingly socially disparate boys caught up in the volatile world of early 1900s Ireland from which springs forth the Easter Uprising. As a writer and a reader, I am amazed at the historical details and language that are completely immersive, as well as by the structure and control O’Neill wields over the book. Yet he never overwhelms with the “history,” nor does he ever lose sight of the true story, the true heart of his stunning novel.

The love story between the boys is timeless… show more.

A confession: Though part Irish by heritage, I have long since lost patience with the romanticization of the Easter Rising, which seems to me a sort of Celtic Alamo – an unholy mess that has been retroactively lionized.  And author O’Neill has been widely compared to James Joyce, which should inspire trepidation in anyone (like me) who just doesn’t get the acclaim for Ulysses. Fortunately, At Swim, Two Boys is far more reminiscent of the Joyce of The Dubliners, with writing that is highly accessible while uncompromisingly lyrical. And the heady heart of the tale, in which childhood… show more.