Product Description: 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.
A Good "Bad Story" This book is filled with loads of laugh-out-loud scenes. O'Brien is especially good at setting up a scene and then delivering a hilarious punchline. Even when the reader can predict how the joke will play out, O'Brien teases the story out in such a way to make the humor even funnier. Each chapter is episodic and stands on its own, but there's a wonderful arc to the entire book. The allusions to Irish history, literature, and folklore add to the writing, and O'Brien really captures the style of writers like Tomas O'Crohan and Peig Sayers. There also are some clever allusions to Wm Butler Yeats and John Millington Syne. I found the satire to be a good-natured, tongue-in-cheek humor that revolves around hyperbole and even surrealism. I find it curious that some fans of Gaelic literature, especially those who admire the real "poor mouth" writers, would be offended by the book. I like the writing of O'Crohan, Sayers, and others, and O'Brien's satire actually seems to complement and enhance the humor in their books, rather than cynically criticize their tomes. O'Brien's real target seems to be more focused on the misty-eyed romanticism of readers of Gaelic writing.
One Of The Funniest 20th Century Short Novels The bleak atmosphere and the beautiful, flowing prose in "The Poor Mouth" are completely at odds, which is what makes this novel so hilarious. O'Coonassa has no idea what's happening to him much of the time, but he dutifully records it as best he can, with amazingly comical results.
The concept here is much like a Buster Keaton film, in that the protagonist is presumably ignorant, but he keeps a sharp eye on events, and he's basically good-hearted (except when he has to resort to stealing a pig or a chicken or some silverware, just to stay alive).
Satire on the myth-makers Lighten up guys. This is satire. Flan O'Brien is satirising those - like Yeats - who mythologised a Celtic and Gaelic past that never existed. The spirit is like Paddy Kananagh - but it's satire rather than gritty realism. Understand?
side-splitting Have you ever had a laughing fit while reading on a bus? It was almost enough to have me committed.Although not personally aware of any Irish in my blood, the way this erupted in me makes it a strong chance.
It has never been better explained why so many Irish ended up in America and elsewhere abroad. A true story!
Not for Nationalists This book is an inside joke, and a classic at that. It is a grand send up of professional Irish (both at home and abroad). As example, consider a book written in Gaelic making sport of the Gaelic movement by means of a Gaelic festival. ( In ourland of the professional ethnic festival, this might serve as an effective antidote to "Irish" nights and "Scots weekends.") If you are inclined to romanticize villages of the old sod dominated by pigs, mud, rain and potatos, avoid this work. If you want a great classic of the jaundiced eye school of literature, read this book. By the way, some of the fun lies in the many parodies of Irish literary works in the assorted chapters; knowledge of the genre helps.
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