At Swim, Two Boys (original 2001; edition 2002)

"He slept that night thinking of loves and lighthouses. That one love might shine to bring all loves home." (456)


Reminiscent of Corelli's Mandolin, Call Me By Your Name, and A Man of No Importance. ( )

i always feel a little bad for the books that come after amazing reads. am i comparing them? should i be comparing them? this book got better as it went along; is that because i was still on such a high from my last read that my expectations were too big at the start of this one? i don't know.

what i do know is that based on content, you'd think i'd love this book. it deals with things like revolution, socialism, classism, homosexual coming of age, gender bias. but i really, really didn't like the way it was written, even with his clever twisting of words and the way he made up words, combinations and otherwise. (i think this is probably why he is compared to james joyce, especially since they're both irish.) and i also really don't like the way he wrote about prostitution and rape. parts of the story kept me reading, but others i was less interested in.

but, here's something good to take away from it:

"Will he never learn 'tis the mark of a gent, not that hats are lifted to him, but that he lifts his hat to others?"

"The universality of things abstracted him. That, for instance, there should be smoothened surfaces for the use of traffic, and that these roads should come from the country and, meeting the city, should turn into streets. ... But come sir, enough of the paving: what of the people? Let the people be classified into sexes, of which there shall be two, male and female. The criterion shall be generative function, though please to note, this function is ideal and not actual: the prepubescent, the celibate, the emasculate, the nulliparous, the non-generative for whatever reason, shall yet be classified by sex. They shall be male or female. Female or male shall they be, though the greater shall be male. Come come sir, enough about gender. The people shall further be graded according to wealth, and - humorous touch this - the more obviously a man labor, the more stinting shall be his reward; the more he work in the out-of-doors, the thinner his clothing shall be; the more his labor filthy him, the less water shall he have to wash. ..." ( )

This was not what I was quite expecting. The first page almost put me off until I realized it was Irish jargon filling up the page that was confounding me. On top of the confusing terms, the language is very lyrical so for a while there I simply gaped at what I had picked up. This was written in 2002 but it doesn't seem like that. It seems rather that it was written then, in 1916. After a few pages you get used to the expressions and figure out what most of them mean. And while the three leads in this book are gay the story hardly focuses its attention on that; there is much more history here. I know hardly anything of the Irish or their revolt against the British so that also made the reading slow and a little tedious. Really, I needed to know a little before this book because some of it was very confusing for me. The one thing here was that I was only really interested in Jim, Doyler and MacMurrough so the other secondary characters were more of an intrusion for me. I feel like I should come back and reread this again in a few years when I can take it more slowly and appreciate all aspects. There is too much too get in one reading. Paying attention to one thing and you miss all these other aspects. It's a book that deserves a reread. It's a wonderful book, I can see that. Only at this time in my current mood it was too high a reach and I feel I only got part of the story. It took ten years for O'Niell to write this and I can see why. There is much to ponder here, and I will be back, I'm sure, to try to grasp those I missed this time. ( )

Although the Irish aspect of this book was interesting, I don't enjoy the homosexual genre. If you do, its worth the read. ( )

The year is 1916, the place Dublin, and two young boys, one the son of a shopkeeper, the other a rough street boy. Watching over the two boys is a young self-centred man of the privileged class.

The two boys, Jim and Doyler were school friends before Doyler left school and moved away, and Doyler has a very soft spot for Jim. When Doyler returns and meets up again with Jim, still at school, he offers to teach him to swim out at the Forty Foot, a large rock where gentlemen bathe without the benefit of any costume. They make a pact that within the year they will swim to the distant Muglins Rock. At the same time Ireland is tied up in its troubles, with war raging in Europe and the rumblings of the battle for the countries independence, the two boys cannot remain unaffected.

But very much involved in the destiny of the two boys is Anthony MacMurrough, the nephew of a well to do Irish family, fresh out of a stint spent at his majesties pleasure in England for his illicit activities with another young man. Seemingly self centred and led by his inclinations, he strikes up a 'relationship' with Doyler, paying him for his services, and even trying to improve the young man, but Doyler is not to be one over, and even warns MacMurrough not to lay a finger on Jim. Yet in Doyler's absence MacMurrough watches over Jim, even makes sacrifices for him, and teaches his to swim.

Providing light relief to the proceedings is Jim's bumbling father, Mr Mack, the aspiring shopkeeper who somehow unfailing manages never to get it quite right.

At Swim Two Boys is a hauntingly beautiful story. It is told in turn from the perspective of the various main protagonists, and the style of writing changes accordingly. The relationship between the two boys is most touching; street wise Doyler longing for intimacy with the naive and innocent Jim, but unsure of Jim's inclinations. By contrast Doyler gives MacMurrough whatever he wants, and receives recompense in return. Yet through it all it is perhaps MacMurrough who grows the most, and his loyal attachment to Jim may be the making of him. A deep and most pleasurable read, highly recommended. ( )