"Puckoon" by Spike Milligan is a convulsingly funny and insightful story that delves into the absurdities surrounding the Partition, showcasing the typical zany humor that Milligan is known for. The book presents a chaotic world where the ongoing battle between the British and the IRA serves as a backdrop for a series of unlikely comedy sketches, highlighting the absurdities of life in a small imaginary corner of Ireland.
Milligan's writing style is described as anarchic and imaginative, with vignettes of humor woven together into a fairly loose plot that takes wild excursions. The book is a satirical take on the Irish-British issue, filled with bold and crass humor that tackles serious themes such as the division of Ireland and the uselessness of terrorist groups, all while maintaining a laugh a page at least.
Genres:
Tropes/Plot Devices:
Topics:
Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of nationalistic and cultural stereotypes, some instances of ethnic humor, and the potential for offensive portrayals reflective of the time it was written.
From The Publisher:
Puckoon is Spike Milligan's classic slapstick novel, reissued for the first time since it was published in 1963. 'Pops with the erratic brilliance of a careless match in a box of fireworks' Daily Mail In 1924 the Boundary Commission is tasked with creating the new official division between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
Through incompetence, dereliction of duty and sheer perversity, the border ends up running through the middle of the small town of Puckoon. Houses are divided from outhouses, husbands separated from wives, bars are cut off from their patrons, churches sundered from graveyards.
And in the middle of it all is poor Dan Milligan, our feckless protagonist, who is taunted and manipulated by everyone (including the sadistic author) to try and make some sense of this mess . . . 'Bursts at the seams with superb comic characters involved in unbelievably likely troubles on the Irish border' Observer 'Our first comic philosopher' Eddie Izzard Spike Milligan was one of the greatest and most influential comedians of the twentieth century.
Born in India in 1918, he served in the Royal Artillery during WWII in North Africa and Italy. At the end of the war, he forged a career as a jazz musician, sketch-show writer and performer, before joining forces with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe to form the legendary Goon Show.
Until his death in 2002, he had success as on stage and screen and as the author of over eighty books of fiction, memoir, poetry, plays, cartoons and children's stories.
Ratings (1)
Loved It (1) |
Reader Stats (1):
Read It (1) |
1 comment(s)
More crazy eccentric stuff from Spike Millgan a funny book from a funny man writer of great comedy!
What can you read after
Puckoon?
When you click the Amazon link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commision, at no cost to you.
