Inger Sheil
Member
Just took receipt yesterday of Senan Molony’s new work, ‘A Garbled Titantic’.
Those of you on Jeff Newman’s excellent Titanic Mailing List would be familiar with the serialisation of the work that he has been posting. Much as in the days of Dickens when readers rushed to get the latest edition of periodicals printing his works in serial form (but thank God there’s no ‘Little Nell’ in this book), conversation in the mIRC chats and via email and around other virtual water coolers these days has centred around ‘have you seen the latest ‘Garbled Titantic’ installment??
It’s difficult to imagine a work more different in tone from the elegant, poignant and profound The Irish Aboard Titanic - once again, Molony demonstrates his extraordinary range. Few other authors could move so easily, convincingly and successfully from one genre to another so radically different. This is a boisterous, brilliant satire, product of a razor wit and Senan’s uncanny ability to cut right to the heart of the matter and more often than not pithily expose its absurdity.
A Garbled Titantic follows the misadventures of the ‘Titantic’ (“think of the extra ‘t’ as a bulkhead”, the author helpfully suggests) and her crew and passengers. I will admit that when I first read this piece of sheer irreverence, mercilessly sending up many a sacred cow and canonical Titanic literary convention, I feared that the author would be subject to howling accusations of ‘making a mock of sacred things’. I was rather pleasantly surprised to find that this has not been the case - people are capable of discerning the difference between sending up the mythology and sending up the historical event.
After receiving the book last night I couldn’t resist trapping my long-suffering flatmate at the kitchen table and reading her excerpts from the text - the effect of which probably went complete askew, as I was laughing so hard that phrasing came out in fits and starts. From Captain Ebay Myth and his strong views on follicle endowments to Arrol Gantry Lowe’s refusal to save a door.
For those familiar with Molony’s style, be assured that there is the usual high quotient of puns. Think of Spike Milligan’s satires on great English literary works, only this one has the virtue of actually being very, very funny. It hearkens back to one of his previous books, a spoof of Irish history (his re-writing of the Irish Declaration of Independence is another comic gem).
First run is a limited edition of 100 copies, and runs to 100 pages complete with brilliantly selected and garbled photographs. Thermally-bound with a bound sheet of clear plastic, photocopied in high resolution. This will be the only First Edition in any format because, as the author explains, he rather fancies a ‘very scarce’ listing on Michael Tennaro’s Titanic books website.
Cost was US$20 (incl. postage and handling) for the Titanic Mailing List, and I’d have to check what that would be for other readers. If anyone is interested in tracking down a copy they can either email Sen himself, or I’d be happy to pass on messages.
It’s remarkable how prolific this extraordinarily talented writer is - in the same post as A Garbled Titantic I received the latest issue of the Irish Society’s White Star Line Journal which Sen edits. The feature story on the man who took the last known photograph of the Titanic in 1912 is a remarkable piece of research undertaken by Sen. In addition to his other Titanic projects, he’s working on a non-Titanic book he was commissioned to write (in which, so I’ve been assured, the ill-fated Shurgur will play a part).
Those of you on Jeff Newman’s excellent Titanic Mailing List would be familiar with the serialisation of the work that he has been posting. Much as in the days of Dickens when readers rushed to get the latest edition of periodicals printing his works in serial form (but thank God there’s no ‘Little Nell’ in this book), conversation in the mIRC chats and via email and around other virtual water coolers these days has centred around ‘have you seen the latest ‘Garbled Titantic’ installment??
It’s difficult to imagine a work more different in tone from the elegant, poignant and profound The Irish Aboard Titanic - once again, Molony demonstrates his extraordinary range. Few other authors could move so easily, convincingly and successfully from one genre to another so radically different. This is a boisterous, brilliant satire, product of a razor wit and Senan’s uncanny ability to cut right to the heart of the matter and more often than not pithily expose its absurdity.
A Garbled Titantic follows the misadventures of the ‘Titantic’ (“think of the extra ‘t’ as a bulkhead”, the author helpfully suggests) and her crew and passengers. I will admit that when I first read this piece of sheer irreverence, mercilessly sending up many a sacred cow and canonical Titanic literary convention, I feared that the author would be subject to howling accusations of ‘making a mock of sacred things’. I was rather pleasantly surprised to find that this has not been the case - people are capable of discerning the difference between sending up the mythology and sending up the historical event.
After receiving the book last night I couldn’t resist trapping my long-suffering flatmate at the kitchen table and reading her excerpts from the text - the effect of which probably went complete askew, as I was laughing so hard that phrasing came out in fits and starts. From Captain Ebay Myth and his strong views on follicle endowments to Arrol Gantry Lowe’s refusal to save a door.
For those familiar with Molony’s style, be assured that there is the usual high quotient of puns. Think of Spike Milligan’s satires on great English literary works, only this one has the virtue of actually being very, very funny. It hearkens back to one of his previous books, a spoof of Irish history (his re-writing of the Irish Declaration of Independence is another comic gem).
First run is a limited edition of 100 copies, and runs to 100 pages complete with brilliantly selected and garbled photographs. Thermally-bound with a bound sheet of clear plastic, photocopied in high resolution. This will be the only First Edition in any format because, as the author explains, he rather fancies a ‘very scarce’ listing on Michael Tennaro’s Titanic books website.
Cost was US$20 (incl. postage and handling) for the Titanic Mailing List, and I’d have to check what that would be for other readers. If anyone is interested in tracking down a copy they can either email Sen himself, or I’d be happy to pass on messages.
It’s remarkable how prolific this extraordinarily talented writer is - in the same post as A Garbled Titantic I received the latest issue of the Irish Society’s White Star Line Journal which Sen edits. The feature story on the man who took the last known photograph of the Titanic in 1912 is a remarkable piece of research undertaken by Sen. In addition to his other Titanic projects, he’s working on a non-Titanic book he was commissioned to write (in which, so I’ve been assured, the ill-fated Shurgur will play a part).
