Tears and laughter: the Irish comic novel

In this course, we will read two classic comic novels by Irish writers. We will begin with Beckett’s Murphy, a surreal romp around 1930s London and through the ‘little world’ of the human mind that weaves together reflections on madness, astrology, and ginger biscuits with a Swiftian satirical fervour. Next, students will consider Flann O’Brien’s once-neglected masterpiece, The Third Policeman: a crime novel in which the murder victim comes back to life, portly sergeants merge – one atom at time - with their bicycles after a long ride, and the local constabulary finds an elevator that leads to Eternity. 

As well as attending closely to key passages in both these books, the course will also show how both O’Brien and Beckett owe debts to previous Irish and Anglo-Irish comic authors such as James Joyce, Jonathan Swift, and Lawrence Sterne. At the end of the course, we will read extracts from contemporary examples of the genre – Pond by Claire Louise Bennett (2015) and Hawthorn and Child by Keith Ridgway (2012) – to give students scope for further reading, exploration and amusement.