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KilloyleAuthor: Roger Boylan American Literature Series September 2007 248 pages, 5 x 8 Dimensions: Paperback, 1-56478-145-3 Retail Paperback Price: Our Paperback Price: $11.16—20% OFF! 
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Book Description
Proving that the spirits of James Joyce, Flann O'Brien, and Samuel Beckett still flow in the veins of at least one Irish writer, Roger Boylan has composed a novel filled with hilarity and doom about the inhabitants of the Irish town of Killoyle: Milo Rogers, a headwaiter and would-be poet with a bit of a drinking problem and a bit of a sexual one; Kathy Hickman, a writer for the woman's fashion magazine Glam, as well as a former pin-up girl; Wolfetone Grey, who only reads books by or about God, and who also makes anonymous phone calls throughout the town in order to make people believe, among other things, that they have just won the lottery; and a host of other peculiar folks, all suffering from and tortured by problems with God, sex, the drink, and of course Ireland.
Accompanying all of this is a nameless figure who bursts on the scene in the form of acerbic, opinionated, hilarious footnotes that rudely comment upon the characters and numerous other subjects. Killoyle wildly celebrates the great Irish tradition of laughter amid despair and tears.
About the Author
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Roger Boylan was born in the United States in 1951, was raised and educated in Ireland, and lived and worked in France and Switzerland before returning to New York in 1978 and, in 1993, moving to Texas, where he now lives with his wife and daughter. His short stories have appeared in various journals, including the Boston Review, the Austin American-Statesman, The Recorder, Scrivener, and The Literary Review. |
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Praise
"This is a virtuoso performance"—Publishers Weekly"Pleasure awaits in this hilarious Irish farce . . . An unexpectedly witty and touching first novel on Ireland . . . Highly recommended."—Library Journal (starred review)
"Boylan proves himself capable of spinning a fabulous yarn, as colorful as it is tangled."—The Minnesota Daily
"[Killoyle] ranks as one of the most impressive novels written by an American in recent years."—The Austin Chronicle
"A fine first novel, continuing the Dalkey tradition of publishing both Irish humorists and sundry members of literary avant-garde."—Cups