tlavideo.com

Review

This gay romance is set in Dublin in 1916 at the time of Ireland's first brave uprising against British rule. O'Neill tells the story of the love of two boys: Jim, a naive scholar and the younger son of the somewhat dim-witted shopkeeper Mr. Mack, and Doyler, the black Irish, rough-diamond son of Mr. Mack's old army pal. Doyler might once have made a scholar like Jim, might once have had prospects like Jim, but his folks sent him to work, and now, schoolboy no more, he hauls a cart that picks up shit (pre-flush toilets), with ideas of socialism and revolution.

And yet the future is rosy, Jim's father is sure. His elder son is away fighting the Hun for God and the British Army, and he has such plans for Jim and their corner shop empire. But Mr. Mack cannot see that the landscape is changing, nor does he realize the depth of Jim's burgeoning friendship with Doyler. Out at the Forty Foot, that great jut of rock where gentlemen bathe in the scandalous nude, the two boys meet day after day. There they make a pact: Doyler will teach Jim to swim, and in a year, Easter 1916, they will swim the bay to the distant beacon of Muglins Rock and claim that island for themselves.

Ten years in the writing, At Swim, Two Boys has already caused a sensation in England and Ireland, earning lavish praise for its masterful portrayal of class, tradition, and the conflict that has haunted Ireland for centuries. While the Irish brogue is rather heavy and the language takes a little getting used to, it's well worth the early struggle.

At its heart, At Swim, Two Boys is a tender and tragic love story that resonated very strongly with me. But it is also a compelling and important work, a novel about people caught up in the tide of history -- set in a place and culture both unfamiliar and unforgettable.

"Written in a rough and dirty brogue, with a constant playful invention, O'Nell's language comes happily close to his master's."(Joyce-ed.)
Emily Drabinksy in Out Magazine.