The Poor Mouth (Paperback, New Ed)

Written in 1941 at a time when the Gaelic League and its progeny had a stranglehold on Irish arts and letters and the Gaelic-speaking primitives of Galway and Connemara were sacrosanct to Ireland's cultural commissars, this savage satire on the native Irish peasantry brought down a storm of abuse on O'Brien's hapless head. And you can see why: pigs, potatoes, and "the pitiable condition of the Gael" now and evermore provide the theme, counterpoint and variations of this tale of the life and hard times of Bonaparte O'Coonassa, a resident of Corkadoragh, famed for its truly Gaelic poverty, ignorance and "unfragrant" aromas. Bonaparte lives largely on his backside on the rushes of his bad-smelling house with his mother and grandfather, known only as The Old-Grey-Fellow, and, of course, the pigs. His God-given stupidity and personal squalor confirm him as a pristine Gael. Unremitting misfortune is his lot ("the downpour comes heavily on us unfailingly each night") but this too is his heritage and destiny. Wickedly parodying any number of Gaelic authors, O'Brien underscores and overstates every cliche of the destitute Irish ennobled by hunger and strict adherence to the idiocy of rural life. A tour de force of mock heroics, The Poor Mouth was written in Gaelic the better to affront Ireland's cultural custodians. Power's translation is faithfully malicious and Ralph Steadman's malevolent drawings perfectly mirror the spirit of the text. (Kirkus Reviews)

The classic satire from the renowned comic and acclaimed author of 'At Swim-Two-Birds' - Flann O'Brien. Flann O'Brien's gloriously wicked satire of the traditional Irish peasant novel, The Poor Mouth tells the shamelessly ironic story of Bonaparte O'Coonassa, born in the West of Ireland 'on a terrible winter's night'. A hymn to the world of potatoes, rain and 'excellent poverty', this cruelly funny assault on the fashionable Gaelic Revival of the day brought the wrath of the custodians of national sentiment upon O'Brien's head for many years thereafter.

General

Imprint:	Flamingo
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	October 1993
Authors:	Flann O'Brien
Dimensions:	198 x 129 x 8mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - B-format
Pages:	128
Edition:	New Ed
ISBN-13:	978-0-586-08748-0
Categories:	Books > Fiction > General & literary fiction > Modern fiction
LSN:	0-586-08748-6
Barcode:	9780586087480

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