Mondo Desperado: a serial novel

by Patrick McCabe

You may not have heard of Phildy Hackball, but thanks to Patrick McCabe--and, we're told, to "an ingenue of an English publisher who had never been in Ireland before"--you're about to get your chance. Hackball is the putative author of Mondo Desperado , a collection of short stories that explore the underbelly of provincial Barntrosna. And what an underbelly it is! McCabe's mouthpiece delivers all the graphic details on Declan Coyningham, the holiest boy in town by far, who seems headed for a life in the church until the locals decide that his inflated prospects need further inflating (literally). Then there's Cora Bunyan, the narrator's wife, who's been enjoying one too many Hot Nights at the Go-Go Lounge. And let us not overlook a cameo by the actual Bruce Lee, who importunes Hackball to be his ghost writer. Some would have it that the kung fu maestro is just a waiter from the Red Lotus Temple restaurant in Mullingar, but the narrator is nonetheless determined to maintain the highest literary I wish my story to be as near perfect as possible. To outline and candidly delineate not just the background to my years of friendship with Bruce Lee but that of the martial arts as we have come to know them--the heists, the head-busting she-wolves, the drug lords, the torn trousers, the pieces of other films that get stuck in by accident. And until I have that story told to my satisfaction, I see no point in concerning myself unduly as to whether I receive the occasional letter from a publisher or not. McCabe's follow-up to Breakfast on Pluto (which made the Booker Prize shortlist) confirms him as one of Ireland's most distinctive and inimitable voices. The stories in Mondo Desperado seem to emanate from some parallel universe, but with their diseased take on national stereotypes, they provide an incisive, viciously cruel commentary on some of Ireland's most sacred cows. And in the end, Phildy Hackball is a wonderfully naive drinking companion, forever leading us up the wrong alleyway. Each time you think you're safely at home, another satiric grenade goes off in your face. Read, laugh, and be afraid. --Alan Stewart

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Irish Literature, Ireland, Contemporary

228 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1999

About the author

Patrick McCabe came to prominence with the publication of his third adult novel, The Butcher Boy, in 1992; the book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in Britain and won the Irish Times-Aer Lingus Prize for fiction. McCabe's strength as an author lies in his ability to probe behind the veneer of respectability and conformity to reveal the brutality and the cloying and corrupting stagnation of Irish small-town life, but he is able to find compassion for the subjects of his fiction. His prose has a vitality and an anti-authoritarian bent, using everyday language to deconstruct the ideologies at work in Ireland between the early 1960s and the late 1970s. His books can be read as a plea for a pluralistic Irish culture that can encompass the past without being dominated by it.

McCabe is an Irish writer of mostly dark and violent novels of contemporary, often small-town, Ireland. His novels include The Butcher Boy (1992) and Breakfast on Pluto (1998), both shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He has also written a children's book (The Adventures of Shay Mouse) and several radio plays broadcast by the RTÉ and the BBC Radio 4. The Butcher Boy and Breakfast on Pluto have both been adapted into films by Irish director Neil Jordan.

McCabe lives in Clones, Co. Monaghan with his wife and two daughters.

Pat McCabe is also credited with having invented the "Bog Gothic" genre.

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The wait in line seemed interminable but it was finally my turn and I strode to the counter of the travel agency. And when I did, dreamlike, the rest of the room turned opaque; it was just me and the travel agent and as if we were in a cloud. She was attractive, intelligent-looking. The name tag on her uniform read: Olga T. When she spoke - Yes, may I help you? - I thought I detected a slight Polish accent. Behind and above her was emblazoned the agency's name: FLIGHTS.

"I need to go somewhere," I said, "and I think it's kind of important. But I don't know why and I don't know where I'm supposed to go. I was told to come here, that you knew everything there is to know about travel."

"Well," she said, "There's a flight leaving for 19th Century France in half an hour. But then there's a flight leaving for 19th Century France pretty much every half hour. Do you mind crowds?"

"I hate crowds."

She gave me a weary look. "Barntrosna," she finally said.

"Barntrosna?"

"Yes, Barntrosna."

"I've never heard of it."

"It's in Ireland. You may recognize it once you get there. Then again you might not. Not everybody does."

I laughed. "It sounds fictional."

She didn't laugh.

"Well, can I see any reviews of it?"

"There are thirteen, none particularly flattering."

"A brochure?"

What she handed me made me step back and swallow hard. The brochure read MONDO DESPERADO and was in ghastly red and yellow font, with glam girls in bustiers and a red cartoon devil.

"You're kidding?" I said.

"It's only three bucks."

"I'll take it."

I started to walk out.

"Oh," she said. "There's one more thing."

"Yes?"

"You have to go by steamer."

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

The truth is, I didn't go to Barntrosna right away. Not for a couple years in fact. And, moreover, I went to 19th Century France first. But I didn't like it and I cut my trip short.

I got home and was doing some end-of-the-year shelf-cleaning, when I saw that horrible looking brochure.

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

And just like that I was in Barntrosna. It was definitely in Ireland, I can tell you that, and full of Cronins and Colcannons, of Dereks and Pats and Noreens. I had never been to Ireland before but I recognized the brogue from quite a few books I had read.

Thanks to my tour guide, Phildy Hackbal, I witnessed some remarkable things. I saw some school boys put an air hose up Declan Coyningham's butt and turn him into a kind of dirigible until, well, they didn't turn it off. I saw a priest ordain the devil and I met an ornithologist who may also have been a peeping Tom. Tom Gully, a big, heavy-set man, had an inglorious boil on his forehead and "a somewhat casual attitude towards, perhaps, personal hygiene" but from his high-stool at Shamey's, after a long night of stout and chasers, he found true, if ephemeral love. And all those stories were just a prelude to The Forbidden Love of Noreen Tiernan. Pobs McCue was in that one, and I wondered for a bit if maybe that was just a similar but pretend name for someone else. I don't know.

But what I do know is that Barntrosna was a place much like anywhere else, where things and people aren't always what they seem, and it's the stories, after all, that matter, no matter how ugly the brochure.

[Noah Melser · Rating 1 out of 5]

So sorry Mr McCabe for not quite finishing this one and don't like to judge without completing, but I can't bear it. Hyperactive writing which obviously delighted when writing it, but stories felt empty and, despite aspirations for experimentation, they were a little tame.

[mary ! · Rating 3 out of 5]

not my favorite from mccabe but that’s sort of to be expected for a collection of short stories. as with most short stories, some are simply much more interesting than others which makes the pacing of the book a little odd for the reader. still enjoyed though :-)

[A. Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

McCabe adopts a refreshingly unusual narrative voice here, in a series of stories that are unpredictable in their plotting and hybrid in their telling. Ordinary people from ordinary villages suddenly veer off their usual paths and do outrageous things. McCabe situates these people in the 20th century but writes them with a 19th-century attention to detail and makes those details hilarious and shocking and digressive and mundane. The collection is a bunch of rule-breaking tales with lots of over-the-top antics.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike "The Butcher Boy", which is both entertaining and deeply disturbing literature of a high order, this little collection of absurd short stories about the denizens of fictional Barntrosna is just entertaining. "The Bursted Priest" and "The Valley of the Flying Jennets" were my favorites, since they both made me laugh out loud.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book 15 years ago. I loved its ridiculousness then and I would love it now. I read half of Carn by McCabe and put it down strictly because it was not like Mondo, so maybe it depends how you enter the world of McCabe. Not sure why it strikes a chord in people but I advocate for this collection.

[Gary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well this started off promising but quickly ran out of steam. An absolute chore to finish, and if the book was any longer I most assuredly wouldn't have. I never felt engaged throughout and the hyperactive writing style soon became more frustrating than intriguing

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing as Phildy Hackball, McCabe presents to us, the readers, the stories of over a dozen residents of the small Irish town of Barntrosna. These vignettes vary from the only mildly odd to the extremely eccentric and feature many interesting characters, to put it mildly. Take into account Declan Coyningham who aspires to be a priest from a very young age which only alienates him from his fellow classmates and makes him a target for severe abuse and one particularly nasty prank gone very awry. Or, my personal favorite entitled "I Ordained the Devil" about a priest who feels that he is responsible for allowing Satan to be an ordained member of the ministry. However, for every one good story, there were three that I just could not get into. I found myself very bored very quickly and wishing for the more well-written accounts of the darker side of humanity like that presented by Ethan Coen in Gates of Eden.

[Liz Derrington · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went to hear McCabe read soon after this book was released, and it was a delightful experience: specifically, I remember him being very funny. He read an excerpt from The Butcher Boy, if I recall correctly, as well as bits from this book. So I bought this book.

It's been a good 10 years now, so I don't entirely remember the experience, but I definitely remember not particularly enjoying Mondo Desperado. I set it down, and never picked it up again. Maybe I'll try again someday, or maybe I'll just go check out The Butcher Boy. We'll see.

[Linda Price-Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best story here is "I Ordained the Devil" about a priest who feels guilty for allowing Satan to rise in the church. The curate seems to be a fresh caring young man until ordained but turns out to be the Horned One, hedonistic and corrupting. Could be a metaphor for charming men who turn into bad husbands after marriage. Couldn't help comparing with the grumpy or aspergers character type who is as good as gold underneath. Doc Martin springs to mind as well as Saga in The Bridge. Patchy set of stories otherwise, so 3 stars. Jack of Spades for the 2015 challenge.

[Kylos · Rating 2 out of 5]

i have to admit that as a collection of weird characters. i kinda felt like it was trying too hard. like it just decorated itself in too much and never found it's footing in substance.

i really wanted to like it.
maybe i'll reread it.
probably not.

[Ruthenator · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's rare I don't finish books, but I disliked every one of the stories I read, did not see the point in finishing the stories, so I returned it to the library. I've read The Butcher Boy and Winterwood by McCabe and enjoyed both of them very much and was surprised I disliked this so much.

[Heather Neill]

kev got it for me and i haven't gotten to it yet

[Lisa Arreola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patrick Mccabe has a truly unique perspective. I enjoyed this book & loved Breakfast on Pluto, the movie with the fantastic Cillian Murphy.

[chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

the first story is the only one really worth reading.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Patrick McCabe has written masterpieces of contemporary Irish fiction with "The Butcher Boy" and " The Dead School". Unfortunately, a lot of his subsequent writing has been below par. I wanted to like this, not all of it was bad, but it was boring me long before the end.