I caught this book in the new Hughes & Hughes in Ennis, down by the river… the praise on the front cover: “Perfect, perfect comedy. A cross between Flann O’Brian, Father Ted, and Morrisey…” from Tommy Tiernan was what got me to pick it up and bring it home with me. Now, I know, you’re thinking, who is Tommy Tiernan to tell me what to read?

Well, no one, it turns out. The Irish comedian may have stormed America some time back, but his career as a book critic has, sadly, not taken off, as of yet. To be fair, it is slightly Flann O’Brian-ish. In that it mentions a bicycle or two. And it is certainly madcap like The Third Policeman or At Swim-Two-Birds. But is it a patch on those two books? Err, no. Then again, not many are.

I’ve just started the online continuation of the levels two and three that Julian Gough is writing, so it’s not over yet. But the bits I read (Level One through to the first 30 or so words of Level Two) were reasonably funny, entertaining, and, for the most part, witty. The jacket quote let me down a bit, but it’s not a bad way to pass your time.