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The Assassin
Set in the 1920s and based on an actual event, O'Flaherty's Assassin captures Dublin life in a way that no other fiction writer has succeeded in doing. Michael McDara, assassin, together with fanatical revolutionary Kitty Mellett, and Fetch, a brutal thug with a conscience, plan an execution and a daring escape -- but dissension breaks out among the conspirators.
290 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
About the author
Liam O'Flaherty
123 books79 followersPeople know Irish writer Liam O'Flaherty especially for his short stories, collected in
Two Lovely Beasts
(1948) and
The Pedlar's Revenge
(1976).
This significant novelist, a major figure in the literary renaissance, also wrote short stories. Left-wing politics involved him as was his brother Tom Maidhc O'Flaherty (also a writer), and their father, Maidhc Ó Flaithearta, for a time.
This significant novelist, a major figure in the literary renaissance, also wrote short stories. Left-wing politics involved him as was his brother Tom Maidhc O'Flaherty (also a writer), and their father, Maidhc Ó Flaithearta, for a time.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 3, 2021
This was only alright. Although I am still keen to read the informer
July 10, 2023
Dostoevsky in Dublin. An expressionist nightmare, frantic, hallucinating, maddening. A political assassination which stems from the dark depths of troubled minds. Gripping - if you are interested in what happens in the minds of characters, how the act is conceived, what are the consequences. Written by one who had fought in the Irish civil war, and knew what it was like first hand. A great, underrated, half-forgotten Irish writer. Really impressive.
May 22, 2024
[Cedric Chivers Ltd] (1969). HB/DJ. 286 Pages. Ex London Borough of Lewisham Library Service. Purchased from WeBuyBooks.
I’m rather attracted to the Portway imprint. Titles are quite hard to locate in Good+ Condition, though, given their typical destiny. The catalogue includes some great works. This isn’t one of them.
Clipped, spare prose - evident in narration and multi-character dialogue, hence inept.
In itself, the writing’s also poorly executed at times. An example of jarring repetition:
“…a gate in the centre of the curve. The gate led to the distant yellowish house. The railing of the gate was golden and black. It glittered in the sunlight. The gate was closed.”
O’Flaherty (1896-1984) was no Georges Simenon (1903-1989).
There are some bright elements in this novel, but it’s overlong - I’d say 200%+ so - and generally unimpressive. The characters and environments depicted are mostly grimy and grim.
I’m rather attracted to the Portway imprint. Titles are quite hard to locate in Good+ Condition, though, given their typical destiny. The catalogue includes some great works. This isn’t one of them.
Clipped, spare prose - evident in narration and multi-character dialogue, hence inept.
In itself, the writing’s also poorly executed at times. An example of jarring repetition:
“…a gate in the centre of the curve. The gate led to the distant yellowish house. The railing of the gate was golden and black. It glittered in the sunlight. The gate was closed.”
O’Flaherty (1896-1984) was no Georges Simenon (1903-1989).
There are some bright elements in this novel, but it’s overlong - I’d say 200%+ so - and generally unimpressive. The characters and environments depicted are mostly grimy and grim.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews