J P Donleavy has left the building

[Ian Macmillan]

I see from the New York Times that J P Donleavy, auteur extraordinaire, has died in Ireland:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/books/jp-donleavy-acclaimed-author-of-the-ginger-man-dies-at-91.html?smid=tw-nytimesarts&smtyp=cur&_r=0

 

Inevitably, the obituary concentrates on The Ginger Man, the novel that made his name and that I picked up from a train station newscounter whilst going on holiday in 1963.  To  begin with I found the stream of consciousness approach a little disconcerting but, very quickly, I found its rhythm and zipped through the murky doings of Sebastian Balfe Dangerfield to the end.  In the years that followed I got through most of his later work, of which I'd have to say that  A Singular Man, the tale of George Smith protecting his wealth and constructing for himself an enormous mausoleum, became my favourite.  Donleavy's style was, it seemed, something of an acquired taste.  I recall recommending him to other years ago, but don't recall anyone taking to him as I had done.

 

Given today's news, I have just marked JP's passing by re-reading George Smith's somewhat outrageous "last will and testicle" from  A Singular Man.  It's as funny now as it first was back in the later 60s.