Eureka Street

I'm reluctant to have definite opinions about the novel, as I'm only half-way through it, but at this point I really enjoy it, and just wanted to counter our class discussion by saying I find it to be exquisitely written, and enthralling on every page. Yes, it's funny quite often, but the humor is, to me, a backdrop to the reality in the foreground. At times it's quiet, but it's also like the muted din of a mid-day bar where one is having lunch alone, with a book--you can overhear the jokes and banter, but the grave nature of the social condition permeates all distractions. One difference with this novel, as compared with previous readings from this course, is that it's the first one that I feel generationally a part of, that I can relate to in ways the other books-- no matter how poignant and well-executed-- are not able to bridge the gaps of time, proximity, and sheer volume of history unfolding on a regular and exponential basis. What some readers may take as flippancy or even pandering to a juvenile masculinity, I embrace as a  a wonderfully refreshing and, more importantly, new literary style, in a dauntless voice that doesn't hesitate to exist without the physical and emotional boundaries that seem to define Irishness in the dramatic landscape of the twentieth century. This is exemplified in the resistance to singleness of form and purpose, which allows the reader to detach from expected agenda. It is gloriously post-modern in this way, and does very well in constructing a mind-space out of the confetti of perceived experience. I personally love any and all digressions in engaging writing when they can't help but be related best in the broad category of poetry. Even the most every-day, prosaic and technical writing, if impacting and memorable, embodies the vague multiplicity of artistic astonishment and inspiration.