313:(2007) writes that, "in terms of sheer artistry, the novel is far more conservative" than O'Brien's early work and considers O'Brien's choice of themes "oddly oblique", given that (in his opinion) the prudish Catholicism that O'Brien was targeting was waning by the early 1960s anyway. Sue Asbee (1991) comments that "it is unlikely that the work would remain in print today" if it were not for the strength of O'Brien's other novels. Anne Clissmann (1975) suggests that the "lavatory humour" of the novel quickly loses its appeal and concludes that "
413:. Nationalist feeling does not feature prominently in the novel, but Collopy does comment on the rise of the Home Rule movement and remarks with pleasure that he sees young men playing "native games" rather than "this new golf", which "for pity's sake isn't a game at all". By placing these words in the mouth of one of his limited comic characters, Collopy, O'Brien is lightly mocking Irish identity by showing how it is based on anti-British sentiment as much as a positive affirmation of Irishness.
234:, and Collopy is rallying the Dublin Corporation to implement some kind of change and trying to persuade Father Fahrt to secure the support of the church. However, later in the novel it becomes clear that the issue in question is the establishment of public lavatories in Dublin and that, while Collopy is campaigning for this goal, he is just as prudish as the Dublin authorities he is fighting against, because he will mention the issue only through
246:, so that Collopy can win papal support for the lavatory campaign. However, Manus is aware that the Pope will have little time for Collopy and Fahrt, and enjoys the spectacle of their humiliation, as the angry Pope, in a mixture of Latin and Italian, quite literally sends them to Hell. The novel closes with Finbarr vomiting out of a feeling of disgust at his brother's lack of morals, and at the squalid and hypocritical world he lives in.
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unclear if they are married and the narrator can only speculate as to why she retained the name of her first husband – and Annie, Collopy's daughter from an earlier marriage. Finbarr describes
Collopy's home as a squalid environment where the boys are served greasy meatballs for dinner, a household with a "dead atmosphere" offering little opportunity for amusement. Collopy and the
270:: the theological disputes between Father Fahrt and Collopy are ridiculed, and often even the boys correct their misunderstandings. However, as Anne Clissmann has pointed out, O'Brien remained a faithful Catholic throughout his life and his lampoons can be read as being aimed at particular individuals and practices, rather than against the Church as a whole.
178:
The story opens with the narrator, Finbarr, recalling the death of his mother in 1890, when he was around five years old. He and his brother Manus (often referred to simply as "the brother") are raised in the home of their half-uncle, Mr
Collopy. Collopy lives with his partner Mrs Crotty – it is
221:
courses for a small fee on a wide variety of subjects about which he knows very little. He researches information on these subjects in the local library and re-hashes the prose of encyclopedias, writing in a pseudo-intellectual, abstruse style deliberately designed to look impressive but remain
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The book also pokes fun at education and how gullible people can be deceived by flowery prose. Manus is easily able to deceive the public when he sells pamphlets on diverse subjects, despite relying on repackaging information from library books. While Manus's scheme initially seems clever and
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When
Collopy falls ill Manus sends Finbarr one of his potions, "Gravid Water", to help him. However, Finbarr administers the wrong dosage, which causes rapid weight gain and eventually leads to Collopy's death. Manus also devises a scheme to get Collopy and Father Fahrt an audience with
165:
identity and the functioning of formal education. The novel was initially very popular, with its first print run selling out within forty-eight hours, and it has been republished several times in
Ireland, Britain and the United States, both as a stand-alone work and, most recently, in
333:
clearly mocks this tradition: Finbarr and Manus grow up in a squalid society that has little to offer them. Manus makes money and wins friends, but only by deception, and although the novel's conclusion shows
Finbarr rejecting this path, it is uncertain how his future will develop.
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A number of real Dublin locations are mentioned in the novel. Collopy lives at
Warrington Place, an extension of Herbert Place. As noted above, the two schools alluded to in the novel are real: Synge Street Christian Brothers Schools and Westland Row Christian Brothers School.
444:
water" (p. 602). The joke here refers to
Collopy's devotion to lavatories: Collopy wished to his name written on the walls of the lavatories. However, either Manus or O'Brien himself is mistaken: Keats' headstone itself reads "Here lies one whose name was writ
249:
The novel opens in 1890 and the date on
Collopy's gravestone is 1904, so the events in the novel should span fourteen years. Finbarr is still at school when Collopy dies, making him likely in his last year of school (which he decides not to finish) at age eighteen.
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because this would arouse curiosity about the book, and probably lead to increased publicity and sales. Censorship would also have given him the opportunity to enter into a legal battle against the government, with the possibility of further publicity.
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Meanwhile, Mr
Collopy is dedicating his time to the pursuit of a certain social or political cause, but never states the nature of this cause directly. Early in the novel it appears that the issue holds considerable gravity: it seems to concern
29:
346:. Sue Asbee suggests that such a comparison is "almost insulting" to Joyce, but accepts that both deal with the squalor of turn-of-the-century Dublin, alcoholism and the power of the Catholic Church. She notes that
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is pervaded by an atmosphere of squalor and despair. The Dublin that the boys inhabit is a decaying city and they are brought up in a broken family. Much of the satirical humour of the book targets the
198:, both boys detest their schools with equal passion, and O'Brien mocks both with equal contempt. Finbarr's first impression of his school is that it resembles a prison: he describes the horrors of
187:
domiciled in Dublin and bearing the comical name of Father Fahrt, frequently indulge in long bouts of drinking, and none of the adults exhibits much concern for the child's welfare.
354:, ends with a moment of enlightenment for the protagonist but without resolution of the problems. It is also noteworthy that the narrator falls in love with a girl called
306:. Other newspaper reviews praised the work for its "first-rate dialogue", its "wild, hilarious, irreverent comedy" and its "glorious version of the English language".
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that deals with the education and upbringing of the narrator, Finbarr, and his brother Manus. The novel offers a mocking critique of certain representatives of the
367:
Anne
Clissmann points out that the device of using language pedantically as a source of humour has much in common with O'Brien's other novels, especially
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genre typically deals with a protagonist coming of age, and experiencing the joys and sorrows of growing up: education, finding a job, finding a partner.
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194:, the former school of O'Brien/O'Nolan himself, while Manus attends Westland Row Christian Brothers School. Both schools are run by the Catholic
421:, which rejects Collopy's plans for the installation of women's lavatories, was a historical body of city government which has now been renamed
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Manus is both resourceful and deceitful, and while still at school he comes up with a cunning idea to raise money. He offers
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There have been numerous editions by publishers based in Britain, Ireland and the United States since 1962. Most recently
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has more in common with O'Brien's journalism, written under the pen-name Myles na gCopaleen, than with his other novels.
137:(pen name of Brian O'Nolan). Published in 1961, it was O'Brien's fourth novel and the third to be published. (He wrote
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is ultimately unsatisfying to read because it lacks coherence and is too one-sided a vision of squalid reality."
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However, many recent critical studies of the novel have suggested that it is the weakest of O'Brien's novels.
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incomprehensible. This business proves extremely successful, and eventually he leaves school and emigrates to
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The closing chapters describe real locations in Rome and the Vatican. Manus buries Collopy in Rome at the
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and compares her with the character of this name in Greek mythology, perhaps recalling Joyce's
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by "the leather" in detail, and refers to "struggling through the wretched homework, cursing
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is often compared to the prose of James Joyce, particularly his collection of short stories
294:, to whom the novel is dedicated, responded warmly to the dedication, and reviewers such as
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sold out in Dublin in less than forty-eight hours, and initial reviews were very positive.
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cemetery and claims that the inscription he places on the headstone is an ironic joke on
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/John_Keats_Tombstone_in_Rome_01.jpg
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water", a self-lacerating reference to the negative reviews that his poetry received.
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in 1939, but it was published only posthumously, in 1967.) Set in turn-of-the-century
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http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Hard-Life/Flann-OBrien/e/9781564781413
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Details of the first edition: 1961, Dublin, Ireland: MacGibbon and Kee.
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The first American edition was published in 1962 by Pantheon Books.
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is less successful because it "gives the impression of trying to be
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attractive to the narrator, after Collopy's death he realises its
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519:. Everyman: London, 2007. Page numbers refer to this edition.
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At least one critic has posited that O'Brien was hoping that
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The Complete Novels, with an Introduction by Keith Donohue
479:, New York, Toronto and London: Everyman's Library, 2007.
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water" and Collopy's "Here lies one whose name was writ
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Flann O'Brien: A Critical Introduction to his Writings
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598:. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 2001. p. 95.
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465:, Pub. date 1 December 1961, Hardback.
192:Synge Street Christian Brothers School
22:The Hard Life: An Exegesis of Squalor
126:The Hard Life: An Exegesis of Squalor
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393:References to history and geography
282:Literary significance and reception
477:Flann O'Brien: The Complete Novels
397:The novel is set amid the rise of
385:pedantic". Donoghue suggests that
168:Flann O'Brien: The Complete Novels
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765:(written 1939-40, published 1967)
214:and similar scourges of youth".
496:Censorship of Publications Act
350:, like most of the stories in
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581:Donohue, K. Introduction to
572:, visited November 23, 2008.
170:(Everyman's Library, 2007).
16:Comic novel by Flann O'Brien
824:Novels set in Dublin (city)
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494:would be banned under the
405:, and increased calls for
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829:MacGibbon & Kee books
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819:Novels by Flann O'Brien
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419:The Dublin Corporation
711:As Myles na gCopaleen
475:has been included in
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814:Irish bildungsromans
770:Slattery's Sago Saga
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762:The Third Policeman
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343:Dubliners
108:Paperback
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788:De Selby
356:Penelope
49:Language
381:funny,
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