Laois author's second novel described as ‘irreverent, outrageous and funny’
Dr Arthur Broomfield pictured with his wife Asumpta at the launch of Arthur's 14th book in Mountmellick Library Photos: Stan Henderson
THE launch of renowned writer Dr Arthur Broomfield’s second novel titled took place in Mountmellick library on Tuesday 7 July through an in-conversation event with well-known playwright, author and writing and drama tutor Frances Harney from Ballyfin.
During the in-conversation event, Frances was very professional in her questions to Arthur, which included lots of humour, and their discussions, which took place for over 30 minutes, went down a treat with the audience of over 20 people. Arthur gave some advice to anyone who wishes to write a book, which included “write a little every day.” Although this is Arthur’s second novel, it is his 14th book to be published, with his first also being a novel titled in 1993. Dr Broomfield, from Ballyfin, is a widely published poet, novellist and a leading scholar of Samuel Beckett. He holds degrees in English and history and an MA degree in English literature from NUI Maynooth, along with a PhD in English literature from Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick. Arthur is a well-known face and is much respected in towns all around the county as he is regularly seen selling his books in almost every nook and cranny in the land.
Prolific author and playwright John MacKenna from Castledermot describes Arthur’s latest contribution to the world of literature in an endorsement on the back cover of as ‘Irreverent, outrageous and downright funny’ and says that “Broomfield’s bizarre characters create an Ireland where an assortment of extraordinary oddities draws a national following.
is a fresh blend of surrealism, wit and satire and pushes the boundaries of conventional literature to its outer limits,” finishing with “Read it and weep – and laugh.” Speaking to the Laois Nationalist shortly before the launch of his 14th book and the much enjoyed in-conversation and in-depth event with Frances, Arthur said: “This is my 14th book and second novel. I also wrote books on short stories and a memoir for a neighbour, along with a book on Samuel Beckett’s works. An Ireland of Snakes and Bollards is a bit of a play and I was trying to find a title for it with some grandiose words, but my wife Asumpta helped me with the title.
“It has been called satire. If you read it, you’ll understand why it’s called satire. It’s a book set in an imagined Ireland somewhere in an elsewhere. , of course, but it is full of satirical alterations of the Ireland we know with churches and entrepreneurs and various institutions. I wrote it over a six-month period of time while writing every day. I attended a masterclass with Mike McCormack in Portlaoise at last year’s in November, which was very good, and I decided to write a novel. I had read a book of Thomas Pynchon’s when I was in Maynooth 27 years ago, but I had forgotten about it as it didn’t make an impression on me at the time. Then I started looking at Pynchon again and I got the idea from him.
“ begins with a crazy idea by a mad philosopher who is looking for the origin of light and there are so many highways and byways off of that thread leading to various characters and it screams chaos. So, I set it in Ireland with Irish vernacular and dialogue and situations that are very distinctly Irish. The book is full of characters and there’s a lot of newspaper reports and emails, that kind of stuff, so they are telling the story through various pieces of dialogue. Another of my influences would be Ernest Hemmingway and his style of writing. The book is published by the publisher that I always get, Savoy in Limerick.” On top of this, Arthur said that he has been a sole trader since he wrote his highly controversial book When the Dust Settles, which relates to the Department of Agriculture and farmers in 1993 and that he had ordered 5,000 hardback copies and he decided to start travelling the country setting up a table and selling them himself in towns and villages all over. For those further afield, look out for Arthur in local towns as he will be coming to a town near you soon.
is currently available from bookshops in Portlaoise, including The Bookmark in Laois Shopping Centre, All Books in Lyster Square, Nook and Cranny on Main Street and Paddy Dowling’s Newsagent beside the old Dunnes Stores on Mountmellick Road. It is also available from O’Gorman’s Newsagent in Mountmellick. The book is also available on buythebook.ie and is priced at €20.
