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Lo zio cadavere
Hayden McGlynn, cabarettista in difficoltà, come uomo di spettacolo sa bene che commedia e tragedia vanno spesso di pari passo. Tornato a Dublino per il funerale di suo zio Eddie, l'uomo che l'ha cresciuto, morto "nel fiore degli anni" - precisamente ottantasei - dopo aver notato una ferita sospetta sulla testa del defunto e una ringhiera delle scale manomessa, conclude che Eddie è stato assassinato e inizia a indagare. Hayden è un detective improvvisato che, piuttosto di risolvere un crimine, preferirebbe dedicarsi al suo noir celtico, un romanzo poliziesco che è tale soltanto nella sua mente ma non sulla carta: nessuna storia, nessuna struttura, nemmeno l’incipit. Ad affiancarlo nelle indagini, tre eccentriche ziette e un narratore autoreferenziale, irresponsabile e invasivo, che perde spesso la trama - letteralmente! - per seguire personaggi secondari che interessano soltanto a lui. Dopo pochi giorni il cerchio sembra restringersi attorno agli improbabili indiziati, ma la verità si dissolve per ricomporsi in un quadro che sottrae a Hayden ogni certezza, ricompensandolo però con il miracolo dell'atto creativo. E la storia riparte esattamente dal punto in cui era cominciata.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 24, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 26, 2019
What is comedy but tragedy with loose trousers.
Sloot by comedian IanMcPherson is styled by the publisher as a post-postmodern crime novel, the 'post' postmodern seemingly coming from its self-aware satirisation of the postmodern form. As the narrator / authorial alter-ego tells us:
My ability to tell a gripping story was effectively killed off at an impressionable age. I was seventeen. I went to university. I fell under the dubious influence of the postmodernists, in particular, ‘How to Write an Experimental Novel That Doesn’t Sell and Keeps on Not Selling.’ ...
Said malign influence helps to explain the structure of this book. At its heart, an accidental detective who’d rather write his own Celtic screwball noir than solve the crime, and a narrator who loses the plot. Literally.
'Screwball' seems to be the motif at which the novel aims. It tells the story of Hayden, an alcoholic Irish comedian on the way down (*), who returns to Ireland for the funeral of his uncle and ward, only to find evidence that he has been murdered, a crime he sets out to investigate.
(* as an aside, MacPherson is often cited, particularly by himself, as the inventor of the 'most-stolen joke': the comedy routine that opens, at whichever venue:
'They say you play [Venue] twice in your career.
Once on the way up.
Once on the way down.
Great to be back.
https://www.comedy.co.uk/features/ian...)
Much of the comedy comes from Hayden’s three nonogenerian aunts, who claim to be suffering from dementia but have enough wits about them to engage in smutty innuendo about famous figures (most of whom they claim to have slept with). Their speech is also rendered to represent a think Irish accent - ‘think’ becomes ‘tink’ and indeed that is the source of the novel's title - 'sloot' being their rendition of Hayden's (or 'Hayding' as they pronounce it) new calling as a sleuth.
And there are various diversions en route, as the narrator explains when comparing his novel (the book we are reading) to more commercially successful noir. In the latter:
The narrator doesn’t continuously interrupt himself with lengthy asides on subjects as diverse as the nature of comedy, the healing properties of Assam, and the merits and demerits of the book in question as literature on the one hand, crime thriller on the other.
I'm not a great fan of overtly comic novels - see e.g. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... for another attempt at screwball crime - and this felt like it was trying too hard on the screwball score while not living up to its post-postmodern promise. 1.5 stars rounded up to 2.
But others may find this appeals. It would be worth sampling before reading:
Extract: https://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/sloot...
An article by the author, rather in the style of the novel: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/bo...
Sloot by comedian IanMcPherson is styled by the publisher as a post-postmodern crime novel, the 'post' postmodern seemingly coming from its self-aware satirisation of the postmodern form. As the narrator / authorial alter-ego tells us:
My ability to tell a gripping story was effectively killed off at an impressionable age. I was seventeen. I went to university. I fell under the dubious influence of the postmodernists, in particular, ‘How to Write an Experimental Novel That Doesn’t Sell and Keeps on Not Selling.’ ...
Said malign influence helps to explain the structure of this book. At its heart, an accidental detective who’d rather write his own Celtic screwball noir than solve the crime, and a narrator who loses the plot. Literally.
'Screwball' seems to be the motif at which the novel aims. It tells the story of Hayden, an alcoholic Irish comedian on the way down (*), who returns to Ireland for the funeral of his uncle and ward, only to find evidence that he has been murdered, a crime he sets out to investigate.
(* as an aside, MacPherson is often cited, particularly by himself, as the inventor of the 'most-stolen joke': the comedy routine that opens, at whichever venue:
'They say you play [Venue] twice in your career.
Once on the way up.
Once on the way down.
Great to be back.
https://www.comedy.co.uk/features/ian...)
Much of the comedy comes from Hayden’s three nonogenerian aunts, who claim to be suffering from dementia but have enough wits about them to engage in smutty innuendo about famous figures (most of whom they claim to have slept with). Their speech is also rendered to represent a think Irish accent - ‘think’ becomes ‘tink’ and indeed that is the source of the novel's title - 'sloot' being their rendition of Hayden's (or 'Hayding' as they pronounce it) new calling as a sleuth.
And there are various diversions en route, as the narrator explains when comparing his novel (the book we are reading) to more commercially successful noir. In the latter:
The narrator doesn’t continuously interrupt himself with lengthy asides on subjects as diverse as the nature of comedy, the healing properties of Assam, and the merits and demerits of the book in question as literature on the one hand, crime thriller on the other.
I'm not a great fan of overtly comic novels - see e.g. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... for another attempt at screwball crime - and this felt like it was trying too hard on the screwball score while not living up to its post-postmodern promise. 1.5 stars rounded up to 2.
But others may find this appeals. It would be worth sampling before reading:
Extract: https://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/sloot...
An article by the author, rather in the style of the novel: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/bo...
December 13, 2019
Although I do enjoy the odd crime novel, I like it even more when an author takes the genre and subverts it. Martin Amis managed with London Fields, Michael Chabon did as well with The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. Sloot manages this and chucks in a few laughs along the way.
Hayden is a comedian who has to return to Dublin in order to attend his uncle’s funeral. When he inspects his uncle’s house, he discovers that there are certain details which are odd, which prompts Hayden to investigate.
But that’s not all.
The narrator is also the author of the book. At times he takes a break from the narrative and tries to look for a professor. The fourth wall not broken in Sloot – it is smashed to pieces constantly.
AND Hayden is trying to write a detective novel in the process.
Sloot has been compared to Pynchon and I can see why. There is a meta quality to the book; the narrator is fully aware of what the characters are going to do and sometimes their future movements are documented to us. The reader is equally important to the narrative as well. Then there’s the ending, which encapsulates the meta-ness of Slott.
Other than that, the novel does follow the tropes of crime fiction. There are suspects, clues, plot twists (very good ones!) and the denouement, which is cleverly executed. The big difference being that we readers are reminded that we are reading a thriller.
Sloot is not just technique though, the characters are memorable, the dialogue is great and, unlike the mysteries I’ve read, there’s a zany sense of humor.
Celtic-screwball-noir. Looks like Ian Macpherson has invented a new genre.
Hayden is a comedian who has to return to Dublin in order to attend his uncle’s funeral. When he inspects his uncle’s house, he discovers that there are certain details which are odd, which prompts Hayden to investigate.
But that’s not all.
The narrator is also the author of the book. At times he takes a break from the narrative and tries to look for a professor. The fourth wall not broken in Sloot – it is smashed to pieces constantly.
AND Hayden is trying to write a detective novel in the process.
Sloot has been compared to Pynchon and I can see why. There is a meta quality to the book; the narrator is fully aware of what the characters are going to do and sometimes their future movements are documented to us. The reader is equally important to the narrative as well. Then there’s the ending, which encapsulates the meta-ness of Slott.
Other than that, the novel does follow the tropes of crime fiction. There are suspects, clues, plot twists (very good ones!) and the denouement, which is cleverly executed. The big difference being that we readers are reminded that we are reading a thriller.
Sloot is not just technique though, the characters are memorable, the dialogue is great and, unlike the mysteries I’ve read, there’s a zany sense of humor.
Celtic-screwball-noir. Looks like Ian Macpherson has invented a new genre.
September 6, 2020
Another author ready to take on the crime novel and subvert it. Well bring it on Mr MacPherson, please do .......
Having read just a tiny bit about Mr MacPherson I'd say that he wrote about what he knew. His crime novel is heavily autobiographical but how does he write it? Well he does what a comedian does, he turns it into a good black comedy complete with the three witches, hmm aunts. In his tragi-comedy he dissects how a crime novel is built and then builds up the jigsaw pieces a la' Picasso.
Black Jug and Skull,
Pablo Picasso
A piece in the Irish Times
Having read just a tiny bit about Mr MacPherson I'd say that he wrote about what he knew. His crime novel is heavily autobiographical but how does he write it? Well he does what a comedian does, he turns it into a good black comedy complete with the three witches, hmm aunts. In his tragi-comedy he dissects how a crime novel is built and then builds up the jigsaw pieces a la' Picasso.
Black Jug and Skull,
Pablo Picasso
A piece in the Irish Times
December 4, 2020
In Sloot We open with our protagonist trying (and essentially failing) to entertain a crowd. His comedy doesn’t appear to be going down well, and it becomes clear that this may be the case for his career in general.
Our main character, Hayden, finds out that his Uncle Eddie has died. Uncle Eddie is not just a regular Uncle though, he is the man who raised Hayden after his parents abandoned him. Eddie is at least partly responsible for Hayden deciding to work in the arts. Given that he is a bit down anyway he rushes home for the funeral and decides to stay in his old room in Eddie’s house. He also decides that he is writing a book – a fact he tells all in sundry about, despite the fact he hasn’t written anything yet.
When he gets home we get to meet the rest of the cast who make up this novel. His best friend, who is obsessed with writing crime novels and keeps giving Hayden ideas on how to write the book. We also have Hayden’s aunts, who live next door to Eddie. They are in their nineties and apparently suffer from dementia, so much so that they can’t remember their own names – but they also seem to have their wits about them. They speak in a strong accent and are one of the primary sources of humour throughout – by far the strongest characters in the book – they appear everywhere.
We also have to throw in some gangland criminals and their boss, a police officer who is set out to get them, a would be stalker and a mysterious lady who lives across the road. Where things take a bit of a twist is when the author himself occasionally brings himself into the story. It is as if he is actually following Hayden around – and sometimes taking wild relatively unrelated tangents.
With Hayden dealing with the death of his Uncle, living in his Uncle’s house, and trying to write a crime novel (apparently by reading books and starting at pieces of blank paper), it doesn’t take long for Hayden’s over active imagination to kick into gear. He convinces himself that Eddie didn’t die in an accident – he was obviously murdered! Given that the police have absolutely no interest in following this line of inquiry he takes it upon himself to catch the murderer, and in doing so gets caught up in the dealings of the previously mentioned gangland organisation.
It is off the wall. It is mad. It is, at times, hilarious. It is incredibly intriguing. I couldn’t really tear myself away from it, and given the structure, I didn’t really know where our narrator was going to take us next. An exceptional read that is certainly one you should consider picking up if you are a fan of stories that a little bit “out there”. I highly recommend it.
Our main character, Hayden, finds out that his Uncle Eddie has died. Uncle Eddie is not just a regular Uncle though, he is the man who raised Hayden after his parents abandoned him. Eddie is at least partly responsible for Hayden deciding to work in the arts. Given that he is a bit down anyway he rushes home for the funeral and decides to stay in his old room in Eddie’s house. He also decides that he is writing a book – a fact he tells all in sundry about, despite the fact he hasn’t written anything yet.
When he gets home we get to meet the rest of the cast who make up this novel. His best friend, who is obsessed with writing crime novels and keeps giving Hayden ideas on how to write the book. We also have Hayden’s aunts, who live next door to Eddie. They are in their nineties and apparently suffer from dementia, so much so that they can’t remember their own names – but they also seem to have their wits about them. They speak in a strong accent and are one of the primary sources of humour throughout – by far the strongest characters in the book – they appear everywhere.
We also have to throw in some gangland criminals and their boss, a police officer who is set out to get them, a would be stalker and a mysterious lady who lives across the road. Where things take a bit of a twist is when the author himself occasionally brings himself into the story. It is as if he is actually following Hayden around – and sometimes taking wild relatively unrelated tangents.
With Hayden dealing with the death of his Uncle, living in his Uncle’s house, and trying to write a crime novel (apparently by reading books and starting at pieces of blank paper), it doesn’t take long for Hayden’s over active imagination to kick into gear. He convinces himself that Eddie didn’t die in an accident – he was obviously murdered! Given that the police have absolutely no interest in following this line of inquiry he takes it upon himself to catch the murderer, and in doing so gets caught up in the dealings of the previously mentioned gangland organisation.
It is off the wall. It is mad. It is, at times, hilarious. It is incredibly intriguing. I couldn’t really tear myself away from it, and given the structure, I didn’t really know where our narrator was going to take us next. An exceptional read that is certainly one you should consider picking up if you are a fan of stories that a little bit “out there”. I highly recommend it.
November 6, 2019
The scene is set in Clontarf, a leafy suburb of Dublin where nothing has happened since the death of King Brian Boru in battle there in 1014. Then Uncle Eddie dies. That is the mainspring of the story. It is also an excuse for Ian MacPherson to let his imagination run riot through a plot where the only sane character is Rusty, who is Uncle Eddie’s dog.
Let me introduce you to the cast list. There is Hayden McGlynn, a stand-up comedian and Uncle Eddie’s nephew. He decides that his elderly uncle has been murdered and makes it his job to uncover the culprit. Unfortunately, whilst he does not have the “little grey cells” of Hercule Poirot, he does have the imagination of Myles na Gopaleen. There are the three nonagenarian aunts who are so demented that they cannot even remember their own names, let alone the names of the other two, but who somehow manage to have a grasp of the situation. There is the Pope family, psychopathic rulers of Dublin’s criminal underworld, led by Frankie, who has a dark underside to his dark underside. There is Detective Lou Brannigan who is determined to get the Popes. There is Tracey who has a strange fascination for Hayden. And there is the mystery woman living in the house opposite Uncle Eddie’s
Just to give this pot a good stir, the author is also present in the story just to keep an eye on things. And once the pot is stirred you have this delightfully insane Irish stew. There is an impeccable logic to the development of this tale. I have no intention of telling you how this develops as that would spoil your fun. It is a bit like asking someone “How do I get to so-and-so” and getting the reply “Well, if I were you, I wouldn’t start from here”. No, I tell an untruth. It is not a bit like that, it is exactly like that.
I am willing to bet that you will not see the denouement coming, and, when it does, you will wonder why you didn’t.
One thing, I am sure of. Clontarf has not seen this much excitement since 1014.
Let me introduce you to the cast list. There is Hayden McGlynn, a stand-up comedian and Uncle Eddie’s nephew. He decides that his elderly uncle has been murdered and makes it his job to uncover the culprit. Unfortunately, whilst he does not have the “little grey cells” of Hercule Poirot, he does have the imagination of Myles na Gopaleen. There are the three nonagenarian aunts who are so demented that they cannot even remember their own names, let alone the names of the other two, but who somehow manage to have a grasp of the situation. There is the Pope family, psychopathic rulers of Dublin’s criminal underworld, led by Frankie, who has a dark underside to his dark underside. There is Detective Lou Brannigan who is determined to get the Popes. There is Tracey who has a strange fascination for Hayden. And there is the mystery woman living in the house opposite Uncle Eddie’s
Just to give this pot a good stir, the author is also present in the story just to keep an eye on things. And once the pot is stirred you have this delightfully insane Irish stew. There is an impeccable logic to the development of this tale. I have no intention of telling you how this develops as that would spoil your fun. It is a bit like asking someone “How do I get to so-and-so” and getting the reply “Well, if I were you, I wouldn’t start from here”. No, I tell an untruth. It is not a bit like that, it is exactly like that.
I am willing to bet that you will not see the denouement coming, and, when it does, you will wonder why you didn’t.
One thing, I am sure of. Clontarf has not seen this much excitement since 1014.
December 17, 2019
Very much depends whether you like your Irish gangsters whimsical like The Third Policeman or more lyrically hard-bitten like Kevin Barry and Danny Denton. I'm the latter.
June 21, 2020
This is absolutely hilarious and brilliantly clever. The aunts might be the best characters you’ll ever read. A complete joy.
October 17, 2019
A really enjoyable, genuinely laugh-out-loud-funny, post-post-modern crime novel. Recommended!
May 26, 2020
What a fun book - an original voice and great pacing.
November 20, 2024
3,5 ⭐
Inizialmente ero molto incuriosita da questa struttura e dal suo stile così particolare. La lettura è stata certamente scorrevole e ho apprezzato molto lo stile dell’autore; in generale il libro mi è piaciuto. Ma (purtroppo c’è un ma…) arrivata alla fine del romanzo mi sono chiesta “cosa ho letto di preciso?” e non sono riuscita a darmi una risposta.
Mi spiace moltissimo dirlo, però “Lo zio cadavere” mi ha dato l’idea di un romanzo che è tanto fumo e poco arrosto: parte con moltissime promesse che poi si consumano nel nulla. Capisco fosse proprio nelle intenzioni dell’autore creare una storia originale e costituita all’70% da divagazioni… ma il problema è che tutto questo, nato con l’intento di far sorridere il lettore, non lascia nulla e non fa provare nulla.
La “crime novel” si esaurisce in poche pagine mentra la sua “salsa comica” è estremamente diluita. Per quanto lo stile di scrittura e i personaggi siano sempre simpatici e spigliati, sono ben pochi i punti che ho trovato effettivamente divertenti.
Potete trovare la recensione completa sul mio blog 👉🏻 https://ungattoinlibreria.wordpress.c...
Inizialmente ero molto incuriosita da questa struttura e dal suo stile così particolare. La lettura è stata certamente scorrevole e ho apprezzato molto lo stile dell’autore; in generale il libro mi è piaciuto. Ma (purtroppo c’è un ma…) arrivata alla fine del romanzo mi sono chiesta “cosa ho letto di preciso?” e non sono riuscita a darmi una risposta.
Mi spiace moltissimo dirlo, però “Lo zio cadavere” mi ha dato l’idea di un romanzo che è tanto fumo e poco arrosto: parte con moltissime promesse che poi si consumano nel nulla. Capisco fosse proprio nelle intenzioni dell’autore creare una storia originale e costituita all’70% da divagazioni… ma il problema è che tutto questo, nato con l’intento di far sorridere il lettore, non lascia nulla e non fa provare nulla.
La “crime novel” si esaurisce in poche pagine mentra la sua “salsa comica” è estremamente diluita. Per quanto lo stile di scrittura e i personaggi siano sempre simpatici e spigliati, sono ben pochi i punti che ho trovato effettivamente divertenti.
Potete trovare la recensione completa sul mio blog 👉🏻 https://ungattoinlibreria.wordpress.c...
March 17, 2024
Lo Zio Cadavere è un libro che cerca di trovare una strada al giallo che sia umoristica ma allo stesso tempo surreale, dove a comandare è la figura dell'autore stesso, frapponendosi in maniera plateale allo svolgersi della storia. Infatti, la storia tende a sbandare in continuazione, seguendo personaggi insignificanti o trame senza senso, e continuamente interrotta da un umorismo francamente irritante, come nel caso delle tre ziette smemorate. Alla fine della fiera cosa rimane? Boh, a mio avviso veramente poco, e non capisco quanto lo stile di MacPherson sia inficiato da una traduzione non abile a rendere al meglio la prosa dell'autore, quanto il continuo riferirsi a personaggi reali (?) dello show business irlandese ed inglese, a me del tutto sconosciuti. Insomma, una piccola delusione.
October 26, 2020
Dubling noir, wrote in the stoile of Flann O’Brien. Hil-feckin-larious.
I wonder if you can even understand this book if you’re not from Dubling. The author (Een), a stand-up comic, wonders in and out of the text, notices things the sloot (sleuth), also a stand-up comic, overlooks. Three dementia-infested aged aunts pepper the book with malapropisms. Other characters possibly include a cross-dressing ganglord, a garda pimping for a brothel in leafy-suburban Clontarf, a drunken Joycean pathologist, a faux-academic (guru to Een) on a bicycle and an AA stalker.
Thanks, Richard. A good recommendation.
I wonder if you can even understand this book if you’re not from Dubling. The author (Een), a stand-up comic, wonders in and out of the text, notices things the sloot (sleuth), also a stand-up comic, overlooks. Three dementia-infested aged aunts pepper the book with malapropisms. Other characters possibly include a cross-dressing ganglord, a garda pimping for a brothel in leafy-suburban Clontarf, a drunken Joycean pathologist, a faux-academic (guru to Een) on a bicycle and an AA stalker.
Thanks, Richard. A good recommendation.
June 26, 2023
A quirky and bizarre novel that was consistently entertaining and enjoyable. I particularly liked the narrator "who loses the plot, literally" cycling off on tangents. And who couldn't love the three aunts, a terrifying Cerberus of nonagenarians who are never quite what they seem.
I doubly confused myself by starting Hewbris first, then accidentally going back to it instead of Sloot on a nightshift (only realising my mistake when Sloot itself was referenced in the footnotes - I just thought it'd got really meta). Now I'm off to start Hewbris again and try not to get totally befuddled!
I doubly confused myself by starting Hewbris first, then accidentally going back to it instead of Sloot on a nightshift (only realising my mistake when Sloot itself was referenced in the footnotes - I just thought it'd got really meta). Now I'm off to start Hewbris again and try not to get totally befuddled!
March 19, 2020
A fun and breezy comic novel that riffs on detective fiction and Flann O’Brien-esque postmodernism. It’s very character-driven and it works because the characters are funny and mostly well-formed. The three aunts are my favorites. They appear throughout, like Shakespearean witches with ‘tick’ Dublin accents and recurring humor, never allowing the protagonist or reader to become complacent. At 199 pages, it’s the perfect length for the story.
January 11, 2025
Felt like there were interesting bits that didn't go anywhere. Would have liked more scenes with Frankie Pope, seemed like an interesting character. And the Comedy Professor?
The narrator device was funny at points but didn't have closure. Thought it'd end up being important for the narrative and the mystery, but unfortunately, the story could have been rewritten without it, without missing much.
Too short, needed a double session with Marina.
The narrator device was funny at points but didn't have closure. Thought it'd end up being important for the narrative and the mystery, but unfortunately, the story could have been rewritten without it, without missing much.
Too short, needed a double session with Marina.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2024
One of the funniest writers I’ve read. Happened across this on the Irish Fiction table in my local bookshop and it reminded me how darkly funny he is. I grinned and laughed a lot throughout the book and tried to savour the last few chapters cos I didn’t want it to end. I’m already looking forward to the follow-up. The three aunts are gas too. Bravo Mr MacPherson!
Read
June 23, 2020This and Nobber by Oisin Fagan both draw on Flann O'Brien for inspiration (plotting in Sloot and language in Nobber). Myles is going to be a hard act to follow but worth trying. It may take several authors to come close.
December 4, 2019
Great fun. I really enjoyed this book. Great characters and often laugh out loud funny. Another hit for Bluemoose Books.
June 1, 2021
Subtly funny throughout with great pacing. Perhaps a bit too post postmodern for me but maybe I missed on some of the jokes.
August 11, 2022
A different way to write crime! Humorous in places, and the characters of the three aunts were intriguing, but it lacked flow at times. A solid twist at the end to make it interesting.
October 25, 2022
Very funny postmodern take on genre versus literary fiction.
December 30, 2024
A curious book that never really settled for me. There are touches of Flan O’Brien and some very funny moments, but it didn’t entirely hold together.
October 6, 2020
Far too complicated. I liked the character development but it was just too much. Not my cup of tea.
November 18, 2021
Some of my favourite books are about writers (think Michael Chabon’s Wonder Boys). While reading, I made several comparisons with Less by Andrew Sean Greer, a comic novel about a failing writer. With Sloot, we have a stand-up-comedian-turned-writer, writing about (you guessed it) a stand-up-comedian-turned writer, except that this writer is not quite ready to relinquish his ego. As narrator, he cannot resist butting in and (occasionally) giving himself centre stage. Like an actor breaking the fourth wall (think Phoebe Waller-Bridge), he talks directly to the reader, and it is this rule-breaking style that gives Sloot many of its comedic moments. Some of my favourite touches were the footnotes.
And so to the plot. Hayden McGlynn (our stand-up comedian friend), has found that, by London standards, his brand of humour is past its sell-by date, when he is called back to his native Dublin to attend the funeral of his Uncle Eddie. Already thinking about writing his big crime novel, he soon becomes convinced that Uncle Eddie’s demise wasn’t due to natural causes and, unable to interest the local garda, decides to solve the mystery himself.
I’m not sure if this is strictly a crime novel, but it isn’t pretending to do anything strictly. I hope the author won’t be insulted if I describe this book as a great palate cleanser. By that I mean that it would makes a welcome break between weighty tomes. In fact, I’d say that it’s the treat you should promise yourself after you’ve made it to the end of Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light.
And so to the plot. Hayden McGlynn (our stand-up comedian friend), has found that, by London standards, his brand of humour is past its sell-by date, when he is called back to his native Dublin to attend the funeral of his Uncle Eddie. Already thinking about writing his big crime novel, he soon becomes convinced that Uncle Eddie’s demise wasn’t due to natural causes and, unable to interest the local garda, decides to solve the mystery himself.
I’m not sure if this is strictly a crime novel, but it isn’t pretending to do anything strictly. I hope the author won’t be insulted if I describe this book as a great palate cleanser. By that I mean that it would makes a welcome break between weighty tomes. In fact, I’d say that it’s the treat you should promise yourself after you’ve made it to the end of Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light.
June 23, 2021
Il libro è lungo 288 pagine ma poteva tranquillamente essere concluso in 88. Personaggi che si sforzano di essere divertenti ma non lo sono (a parte qualche battutina qui e lì). L'unico punto a favore è che il colpevole è davvero inaspettato, ma finita la sorpresa (2 righi) tutto diventa di nuovo insensato.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews