Tuesday, August 12, 2008

At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill

O'Neill is a master of words and, through puns, rhyme, and many double-entendre, his novel of Ireland during the Great War is quite possibly a modern masterpiece. I don't want to say that the book is about two boys who go swimming because it's not - swimming is only the way in which O'Neill brings his characters together. It's a story about class struggles, about identity as a citizen, religious parishioner and individual person, and about the capacity of love. O'Neill's language and purposeful broken grammar takes some getting used to, but it's entirely worth it. A must read and now, for me at least, a new favorite.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR6065.N4194 A92 2002
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Jessica Cioffi, Holocaust Education Coordinator, Rodgers Center
Rating: Highly Recommended

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