At Swim, Two Boys (Paperback, New Ed)

The boys of the title are Jim Mack and Doyler, two 16-year-olds living n Dublin in 1915. The pair have very different personalities - Jim is shy and awkward, Doyler is brash and worldly - but they bring out the best in each other. Their deep friendship develops into a physical relationship as the lads discover their homosexuality. The story of their burgeoning loves takes place in a nation struggling to come to terms with itself, as some of its people take up arms against the British, culminating in the Easter Uprising of 1916. Revolution cannot come quickly enough for Doyler, the keen Republican, but the more sheltered Jim is seemingly preoccupied with navigating through adolescence. However, when the fighting begins he will grow up very quickly.... Jamie O'Neill has taken ten years to write this ambitious novel, and it has clearly been a labour of love. There is plenty of scope across nearly 650 pages for O'Neill to develop character, and this is done with varying degrees of success. The less satisfying characters tend to dwell at either end of the social scale. Doyler, the poor boy, lends himself to caricature, and his cocky indomitable nature often seem one-dimensional. At the other end is MacMurrough, the nephew of the 'first family' of the area, recently released from a term in an English prison, having been jailed for his homosexuality. Considerably older than the two boys, and involved with both, he cuts a rather tragically sex-obsessed, self-justifying figure, given to having conversations in his head with a deceased former cellmate that even he admits is pretentious. There is a humanity to the character, but it is all too rarely revealed. Between these two in social standing lies Jim's aspirant lower-middle-class family. All of them are well-observed, but Jim's father is a masterpiece of characterisation, an ex-soldier, still feeling guilty at having legitimately passed out of the army just as his regiment became involved in heavy fighting in the Boer War. He is trying to do his best for his family, but he is a relic from another age; a good man who cannot help getting into scrapes, and who is unable to comprehend the changes taking place in his country. O'Neill's idea to juxtapose the sexual awakening of the boys with the political revolution in Ireland is inspired. Some readers will find the style a little pompous, and others will balk at the content, but overall it is an impressive achievement and a journey worth taking. (Kirkus UK)

Ireland, Easter 1915, turbulent times, and two young boys make a pact. In a year's time they will jump off Forty Foot, a jut of rock where gentlemen bathe in the nude, and swim to the glow of the Muglins light to raise the Irish flag and claim it for their country and for their love of each other.

General

Imprint:	Simon & Schuster
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	July 2002
Authors:	Jamie O'Neill
Dimensions:	198 x 130 x 42mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	643
Edition:	New Ed
ISBN-13:	978-0-7432-0714-0
Categories:	Books > Fiction > General & literary fiction > Modern fiction
LSN:	0-7432-0714-9
Barcode:	9780743207140

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