Flann O'Brien: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Post Modernist

by Keith Hopper

A major contribution to the study of post-modernist literature in contemporary Ireland

Paperback

First published May 1, 1995

Reviews

[Uvrón · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed and appreciated this, even though I was not of sharp scholarly mind for most of the reading (more exhausted rodent mind). Hopper is serious and committed to unpacking O’Brien’s postmodernism, but he is not lost in academic egoism or self-importance (the opening of the book is a cute bedtime story his daughter invented). Some early passages stand out just for being able to define and discuss the basics of postmodernism and metafiction in a rare, clear style.

There is a lot of direct interpretation of The Third Poiceman’s postmodernist and anti-rationalist qualities that is convincing and well argued, which was great for me because I have been too close to the book for too long to catch some of the obvious facades in the Parish. But Hopper goes deep too, consistently appreciates the complexity of the book—its polyphony, literary influences, relation to whodunnits and sci fi, its self-aware exposure of / recreation of literary misogyny—and doesn’t try to simplify it. It is very focused on that book, with some passages on At Swim-Two-Birds, so don’t expect a comprehensive look at O’Brien. I read the original edition, apparently the revised edition has some extra stuff on homosociality.