At Swim, Two Boys
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| Author | Jamie O'Neill |
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| Country | London |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | Scribner |
| Released | 2001 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 643 pages |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7432-0713-0 |
At Swim, Two Boys (2001) is a novel by Irish writer Jamie O'Neill. The title of the book is a punning allusion to Flann O'Brien's At Swim-Two-Birds. The book is written in a stream-of-consciousness style, which has led to favourable comparisons to James Joyce.
[edit] Plot summary
Set in Dublin before and during the 1916 Easter Rising, it tells the love story of two boys: Jim Mack and Doyler Doyle. Jim is quiet, studious, thoughtful, and naive; Doyler is outspoken, rebellious, brave, and affectionate. They first know each other through their fathers, who served in the army together and were best friends - something that has changed since.
The swimming of the title becomes the main setting for their romance; Doyler teaches Jim to swim and their goal is to swim out to an island called the Muglins on Easter, 1916 and claim it for themselves. In the meantime, however, there are the realities of ordinary life. Jim is at school on a scholarship and Doyler is working to help support his family, which consists of his mother, several little sisters, and the classic alcoholic Irish father. In contrast, in Jim's family there are his father, his great-aunt, and a brother away in the army.
Anthony MacMurrough, Irish but raised in England, has just finished serving two years' hard labour for acts of gross indecency. His aunt Eveline is determined to redeem him and he is staying at her house, his mind haunted by people from his past. When he meets first Doyler and later Jim, the three of them form a complex history.
[edit] Footnotes
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