Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men

A novel with a title as cool as “Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men” is just begging to be at least taken off of the shelf. If that catchy handle isn’t enough, the boxer throwing a jab on the cover, with a little mouse atop his glove, should certainly get your attention. If I hadn’t already been directed to this book by my friend, Glenn, that title and cover art would have gotten me to give this one a try.
Bateman grabbed a hold of me with the first paragraph.

“Peace had settled over the city like the skin on a rancid custard. Everybody wanted it, just not in that form. The forecast remained for rain, with widespread terrorism.”

Boy, Howdy! I think this was the most fun I’ve had with a book in all of 2021. I love boxing, comedy, and show more weird characters. This page-turning thrill ride is the crazy misadventures of unlikely, heavyweight contender, Fat Boy McMaster and his entourage preparing for a mismatch of a title shot with the champion, Mike Tyson. Fat Boy “can’t fight, he has the charisma of a bag of sugar and more in common with tripe than hype. He is the Great Fat Hope”.
Our motley crew welcome the chance to leave the atrocities of Northern Ireland behind for the more settled conditions of New York City. Ha! Right from the frying pan, and into the fire.

Special thanks to Glenn Russell for introducing me to Colin Bateman’s work. show less

Giving a nod of his head to John Steinbeck, Northern Irish author, Colin Bateman delivers Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men, the second novel featuring Dan Starkey, a boozy, sarcastic and often misguided journalist. In this outing we are presented with a fun story line, some bizarre twists, plenty of shady characters and a considerable amount of dark humor.

We find Dan joining the entourage of the Irish heavyweight champion “Fat Boy” McMaster, and heading to New York to cover the upcoming fight between McMaster and Mike Tyson. When McMaster’s wife is kidnapped and the fighter is misunderstood and becomes labelled a racist, Starkey tries his hand at detective work and along the way gets involved in an attack on a Muslim temple and manages show more to insult and get beaten up by a group of gay waiters before zeroing in on the Irish political and religious troubles.

Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men is a fun romp, not to be taken too seriously, but simply enjoyed for it’s tongue-in-cheek style, fast pace and sharp humor. I am already looking forward to the next book. show less

Belfast journalist Dan Starkey is off to New York to cover a fight between Mike Tyson and a little-known Irish fighter, nicknamed Fat Boy McMaster, or sometimes Marshmallow McMaster who has somehow become Ireland's champion. After a series of misunderstandings McMaster's wife is kidnapped. This slapstick farce is loaded with humour that is hardly likely to be fully understood outside Northern Ireland. However, Bateman gave me several laugh out loud moments and a happy memory of "wee sweetie mice", a favourite candy of my childhood.

Irish Journalist Dan Starkey is back in his second appearance. The first, [b:Divorcing Jack|163144|Chicken Soup for the Single's Soul - 101 Stories of Love and Inspiration for the Single, Divorced and Widowed|Jack Canfield|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172314570s/163144.jpg|157478], was great and this one may be better. Bateman who is a wonderful and hilarious story teller has moved his story this time out of Ireland, to the Northeast part of the U.S. Semi-decent heavy weight boxer, Bobby McMasters is pitted as the great white hope against Mike Tyson for a St. Patrick's Day match. Starkey's been hired to write a book about the whole thing. Ireland meets New York in the 1990's itself is a set up and Bateman takes it all the way. show more Bateman's next novel is already out in the U.K. I hope it swims across the pond at a fast clip! show less

This is the 2nd book in the Dan Starkey series, an Irish journalist who likes a drink or ten. He has a sarcastic streak large enough to dwarf his bar bill and doesn't stop to think before opening his mouth and letting rip. This, unsurprisingly, leads to some unpleasant situations. He has separated from his wife who he still loves like nothing else in the world, and just before he's due to fly out to New York she tells him she's pregnant and it isn't his. So off he flies to his latest assignment, getting the inside story of a fight for the heavyweight championship of the world between Mike Tyson and the great Irish (no-)hope Bobby 'Fat Boy' McMaster. Events take a nasty turn when comments in a press conference are misconstrued and the show more Irish fighter is branded a racist and things don't get much better when his wife is kidnapped. Full of black humour and this series is thoroughly recommended to anyone who's read and enjoyed Christopher Brookmyre's books. show less

Unpleasant.