J. P. Donleavy

Advantages: Great story, unique writing style, funny, moving, did I mention, funny?
Disadvantages: Protagonist is an interesting character study but often a cad

...a remarkable skill at melding humor, sadness and pathos into the story. He writes as though painting a picture, his characters and landscapes just as they are with no attempt to cover their flaws. There is no movement toward redemption for the protagonist in The Ginger Man as is taught by academia to be critical to the development of the hero. Sebastian Dangerfield simply is -- (to paraphrase from the book title J.P. Donleavy's Ireland...) "...In All of His Sins and Some of His Graces."... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Funny, well written
Disadvantages: Offensive to some

..."The purpose of writing is to make your mother and father drop dead of shame" a famous quote by J P Donleavy that fairly well sums up the irreverent spirit of his novels especially 'The Ginger Man'. J P Donleavy was born in 1926 New York of Irish extraction and spent some time at Trinity College in Dublin. Thus it's not surprising to find that the hero of 'The Ginger Man' Donlevy's first novel is an Irish American law student Sebastian Dangerfield studying at Trinity in the early 50's. 'The Ginger Man' was not an overnight success for Donleavy in fact at first it proved very difficult to get published. Although its artistic merits were never questioned many publishers feared legal and moral repercussions from the book's explicit (for the time) sexual content. Eventually it was published in France by Olympia Press already well known... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Interesting ideas and new translation
Disadvantages: A bit controversial, but then, that's not necessarily a disadvantage

...and difficulties, as well as source materials. First, for a little background: since the 1800's, much of Biblical textual scholarship and analysis has subscribed to the theory that most books were not first written as integrated wholes, but rather, consist of a library of amalgamated texts, largely put together by a person who goes by the title Redactor, or R, for short. This was (in terms of Hebrew Bible timelines) a relatively late occurrence. Prior to this, there were various sources, including the J (J for Jehovah, or Yahweh, which is what God is called in these texts), but also E (Elohist, which is what God is called in these texts), P (Priestly, which largely comprises Leviticus), and D (Deuteronomist). The separation of these strands is controversial, and will probably never cease to be. But with literary and linguistic analysis, certain traits... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful