tombomp's review against another edition
2.0
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.
cwebb's review against another edition
3.0
Pünktlich vorm St. Patrick's Day etwas irische Literatur:
http://www.weberseite.at/buecher/the-hard-life-flann-obrien/
http://www.weberseite.at/buecher/the-hard-life-flann-obrien/
martin_g's review against another edition
4.0
Great book on the life in Ireland at the beginning of the century and the importance of Christianity in those communities. The humour used to tackle religion as well as the Brother's scam to make money through teaching people rope walking is very amusing. I enjoyed he trip at the end of the book also as it brought the characters to life more so than the beginning. I came across this book randomly and am glad I have read it.
ilayda_metis's review against another edition
5.0
İki yetim Finbarr ve Manus ile Dublin’e yolculuğa çıkıyoruz. Yazardan okuduğum ikinci kitap oldu ve bunu daha çok sevdim. “Hiçbiri kısmen de olsa kurmaca olmayan” karakter sunuyor bize. İrlanda halkına, din ve devlete dair çok iyi tespitlerde bulunup yansıtmış. Dayıları Bay Collopy ve Peder Farth’ın konuşmalarını dinleyerek büyüyerek, sorgulayarak büyüyen Finbarr ve Birader Manus. Hem komik hem de bir o kadar da sarsıcıydı. Okuması benim için çok keyifliydi.
chalicotherex's review against another edition
3.0
If this is one of O'Brien's lesser books (as other reviews seem to say), then I am eager to read the rest of his work. I liked the brother's mail order scams. The revelation of the half-uncle's work with women was clever (and the one-sided transcript of his interview with the Pope was hilarious).
piccoline's review against another edition
4.0
Hilarious, as usual, but not at quite the insane level of greatness as The Third Policeman and At Swim-Two-Birds. What, you haven't read either of those yet? Go do it! (Start with 3rd P.)
As funny as The Hard Life is, it's more... familiar than those early works, which is a little tragic. AS2B didn't sell well, and 3rd P wasn't published until after his death. One can't help but wish 3rd P had been recognized for the genius work it was. What other mad gems might he have produced if he'd received more encouragement in it?
I suppose it must be difficult for those ahead of their time.
As funny as The Hard Life is, it's more... familiar than those early works, which is a little tragic. AS2B didn't sell well, and 3rd P wasn't published until after his death. One can't help but wish 3rd P had been recognized for the genius work it was. What other mad gems might he have produced if he'd received more encouragement in it?
I suppose it must be difficult for those ahead of their time.
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