The mad scientist De Selby is intent upon destroying the world with the aid of his time machine, in this final novel by the author of At Swim-Two-Birds. Dalkey residents Mick Shaughnessy and his friend Hackett could possibly foil him, but they're too preoccupied with the lovely Mary. Along the way, the wayward friends chat with Saint Augustine in an underwater cave; listen to the magniloquent Sergeant Fottrell expound his "molly-cule theory," which holds that a man can turn into a bicycle; and talk shop with a repentant James Joyce, who's working as a bartender and determined to join the Jesuits.

"The best comic writer I can think of."—S.J. Perelman

"A real writer, with the true comic spirit."—James Joyce

Paperback / 204 pages / Classic Irish fiction