The author of "Desperadoes" and "Cowboys and Indians" directs his acid humour upon contemporary Irish life at home and abroad. The result is a headlong, love-struck, end-of-millenium, coast-to-coast tour of the frustrations, contraditions and giddying glories of being Irish in the 1990s. Dissecting the cultural icons of our time, from the Taoiseach to the taxi driver, from the kiwi-fruit-flavoured condom to the Kilfenora ceilidh band, and discoursing on everyone from James Joyce to Jesus Christ, from Rolf Harris to Daniel O'Donnell, O'Connor picks his way between sinking pints in London-Irish pubs to pumping iron in Dublin gymnasia. Fear and loathing, pity and terror, country and western, love, rock and rock, and football are all encompassed by these snapshots of modern Irish life.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Secret World of the Irish Male should be seen for what it is: a loosely-related collection of O'Connor's newspaper columns on contemporary Irish life. While much of it tends towards the lightweight (and doesn't pretend to be otherwise) there are also moments of perception and insight such as his encounter with a young Irish migrant at a railway station in London (and the implied reality of much of the migrant experience) and his flirtation with the world of boxing. There are, however, many more moments of high comedy from the school of flirting in New York to the riotous, rambunctious World Cup diary (worth the price of admission alone). It should be understood (some reviewers seem to find it difficult) that this is a collection of laughs and tears in between O'Connor's more serious (but not always less humourous) endeavours and is such is recommended as a highly entertaining, intelligent read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Not so much a book as a collection of newspaper articles and general musing. O'Connor is a gifted writer and on occasion has a witty turn of phrase. Unfortunately, like other books that gather together unrelated and unconnected writing, you notice a tendancy to repeat the same tricks and devices in more than one chapter. But this book will make you laugh and does give an insight into what it means to be an Irish Male that's as valid and accuate as any other.
4 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Possibly the funniest book I have ever read, Joseph O Conner's "The Secret World of the Irish Male" is insightful, intelligent and a perceptive snapshot of the lives of the modern day Irish. A great read...if you're not laughing by the end of it you need your head examined. If you're Irish, well all the better.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Awful , Awful, Awful
I am not going to say much because the Book is a waste of space, paper, time, money and my writing a review only makes matters worse! Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2000 by paul.melinn@eei.ericsson.se
1.0 out of 5 stars
Awful
Joseph O'Connor's continuing popularity is a goad and a mystery to those of us who still think that observing reality and writing about it are things to take a bit of time and... Read more
Published on 10 Dec 1999
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