At Swim-Two-Birds

By: Flann O’Brien

Narrated by: Alan Smyth

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

A wildly comic send-up of Irish literature and culture, At Swim-Two-Birds is the story of a young, lazy, and frequently drunk Irish college student who lives with his curmudgeonly uncle in Dublin. When not in bed (where he seems to spend most of his time) or reading, he is composing a mischief-filled novel about Dermot Trellis, a second-rate author whose characters ultimately rebel against him and seek vengeance. From drugging him as he sleeps to dropping the ceiling on his head, these figures of Irish myth make Trellis pay dearly for his bad writing. Hilariously funny and inventive, At Swim-Two-Birds has influenced generations of writers, opening up new possibilities for what can be done in fiction. It is a true masterpiece of Irish literature.

©1939 Flann O’Brien (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

Worth waiting for

I’ve waited for this a long time. O’Brien’s alliteration and phrasing calls for a reader who can make the text sing – and, Alan Smyth is near-perfect in his narration. If you enjoyed “Tristram Shandy” narrated by Anton Lesser, then you’ll like this as well. Thanks, Audible!

More tedious than I remembered

Yes, many applaud this, and after all, the novel got a blurb from Joyce Himself. Flann O'Brien's on to a great gimmick--the tale within a tale as characters struggle to get out. Fun set-up, with the hapless slacker creator in his bedroom, doing who knows what. Alan Smyth's reading I picked over Aidan Doyle's for its liveliness. But the plot bogged (!) down and highlights were sporadic. I kept listening, waiting for it to pick up, but it turned out more of an odd slog and a fictional detour than critical favorite. For the newcomer, reading about the life and times of the author in Anthony Cronin's study may be a wise first move.

Bombastig meanderings of a burning, drowning mind

A work of genius., capturing the very essence of the Irish soul in it's grand talk, hilarious failure, bragging (the gift of gab), (half) knowing of history and myth, grotesque randomness and exaggeration ... but rather than a harsh critique it is a loving embrace of all the virtues and vices as part of the Irish human condition... also in the dim light of their history of centuries under English rule, which is not a major topic in this novel, though. Or one could see it as a unique view of good and evil. Read the other four novels by Flann O'Brien and drink a pint of stout, which is, as we are informed "the only man"... and a deeper understanding might dawn... but then it might not. I always loved the books by Flann O'Brien since I first read them in rather good German translations.
The reading by Alan Smyth was an absolute delight. Very enjoyable, while I was processing this years apple and pear harvest.

just listen.....

I've read this book 3x over, say, 25 years and listened to it now, recently, in whole or in part, probably 10 times. Funny as hell. Great accent of the reader, too. Really brings this book alive. (one of my all-time favorite books!) in particular, the tripartite discussion throughout, but esp in Ch 8, wherein they confuse Homer and Socrates. I feel like I'm in a pub.

Brilliant

A joyful and hilarious challenge of a read. A tour de force of language and characterization. The whole thing feels like a crazy directionless romp until the ending which strikes like a thunderclap, when suddenly is revealed the book's profund questioning of the valences of words and writing, existence and memory, fiction versus fact, and representation versus existence.

What a romp, perfect narrator

This book is wild. I loved it and the narrator was perfect for bringing it to life, handling well the many Irish words and the everpresent humor.

its a rant that's very difficult to listen to

story was impossible to follow and it was an auditory assault that failed to have any interesting characters