The Dalkey Archive discussion

The Dalkey Archive was only written because O'Brien couldn't find a publisher for The Third Policeman (which was published a few years after his death). Many jokes and plot lines were recycled from The Third Policeman and it seemed to have much less substance.

While it was an okay book, it was certainly great to take a better look at De Selby who was much alluded to before. However, it simply did not have the riveting and thought-provoking conclusion as in The Third Policeman and At Swim-Two-Birds (the only two other O'Brien books that I've read).

In my opinion, The Dalkey Archive simply can't stand up to The Third Policeman and didn't do O'Brien justice.

What do you think?

PS I have The Poor Mouth on it's way from Amazon, I hope that'll be worth its while.

I agree with you, Tim. The Dalkey Archive pales in comparison to The Third Policeman. The Poor Mouth is excellent, though. I hope you enjoyed it.

You know, I disagree. There is a human warmth about the Dalkey archive that I find missing from The Third Policeman. And the madness of de Selby is more diverting. Of course it may be that I'm biased. I lived half-way between Dalkey (and knew the Vico Road and the furze covered granite outcrop very well) and Joyce's Martello tower at Forty-foot - it's a an hour's stroll at most from one to the other. And I always preferred my first sentence to Ulysses to Joyce's: Mine goes: Up jumped Buck Mulligan.

Loved both books. Liked The Dalkey Archive because of the human warmth. It was similar in feeling to If On A Winter's Night A Traveller.