Feels like a shaggy dog story with a punchline that we're not privy to. It has funny moments and O'Brien is a good writer but I felt like I was missing a whole lot. ( )

A la casa del señor Collopy llegan dos niños huérfanos. Mientras el señor Collopy se dedica a una misteriosa y humanitaria labor en favor de las mujeres, los chicos crecen entre los aromas del buen whiskey y de la mala cocina. Manus, el hermano, pronto demuestra ser un maestro en los negocios. De enseñar por correspondencia cómo caminar sobre la cuerda floja en el Dublín eduardiano, pasa a instruir a la población y al mundo de forma más ambiciosa en su «Academia Universal Londres». Finbarr, el menor, observa y espera. Una ligera enfermedad hace que el señor Collopy tome un medicamento preparado por Manus, pero sus efectos resultan ser inesperadamente gravosos. En compañía de un amigo, el señor Collopy emprende un viaje a Roma en busca de alivio. Las secuelas, sin embargo, echan por tierra sus aspiraciones...

Well written and entertaining but somehow less than what I was expecting. Could have been or perhaps was better meant as a short story. ( )

The most "normal" of his books, and not witty enough. Go for The third policeman instead, Poor mouth and At swim-two-birds. They are all much more fantastic, masterpieces all and about the best there is. This is not, it started promising but soon faded out. I find I must reread The third policeman, maybe the funniest book ever written. ( )

Pretty good, but nowhere near the brilliance of The Third Policeman or The Dalkey Archive. ( )