Book Review: The Madding of Daniel O'Hooligan

Synopsis: 'Daniel Clare O'Hooligan - motorcycle enthusiast, failed family man and teacher of Medieval Literature - is increasingly at odds with life in the twentieth century. His other world, the fantastic realm of the Sacred Lake with its eccentric denizens, beckons ever more alluringly...This audaciously inventive novel rockets along at full throttle, steering a wild course through medieval warfare, higher education, theories of light, the music of Liberace, and the nature of doubt and belief.' (Source: back cover)

Thoughts: Delightful, left of centre, funny book that lets you into the mind of Daniel O'Hooligan as he loses it. The blurb states that the "novel rockets along at full throttle, steering a wild course" and that sums it up perfectly. If you have ever been on a motorbike, on a twisty road, you know what it's like to be thrown from one side to the other and back again as you go through the bends. Likewise, Wear's novel throws you from one thing to another and back again, barely giving you time to gather breath before being tossed in yet another direction. And it works. Through it all there is a twisted logic you can follow. You can see what O'Hooligan sees and it all makes so much sense.
I can just about guarantee if you read this you will laugh out loud, you will despair and you will delight in the characters and their lives. The Madding of Daniel O'Hooligan is a amazing gem. It's almost impossible to find it in hard copy, but the author has just re-released it in Kindle format. (http://www.amazon.com/The-madding-Daniel-OHooligan-fiction/dp/0702223417) Well worth the $4.90.