LITERATURE: At Swim-Two-Birds – Critique

Ah, what would a novel be without an editor?  O’Brien amazes us once again by providing our narrator with a critique on his novel from his friend Brinsley.

From a perusal of the manuscript which has just been presented in these pages, he had expressed his inability to distinguish between Furriskey, Lamont and Shanahan, bewailed what he termed their spiritual and physical identity, stated that true dialogue is dependent on the conflict rather than the confluence of minds and made reference to the importance of characterization in contemporary literary works of a high-class, advanced or literary nature.  (p. 230)

Of course one can’t help but find it amusing that even while plowing new trails in contemporary literature, O’Brien provides his own critiquer to explain the rules of "advanced" literarary nature.

But is his character correct in his opinion?

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