At Swim-Two-Birds

I have just finished reading At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien. The book is a book with in a book, that is hidden inside a story. Normally this kind of complicated book annoys me, but in this case, somehow there was a streak of fun in the stories. After reading the wikipedia entry on the book, I realized I had not followed all of the threads of the novel.

Call me cynical, but I would guess that this book is set in some English (or Irish) literature exams. So some students may not read the book, but just use the wikipedia article to write essay questions. Perhaps, I should write myself into the wikepedia article on the book. Then students would write about me in their exam. This would be in the spirit of the book and the students could claim they just spent all day in bed, and never opened a book, just like one of the possible authors in the novel. The studenst would also learn the difference between reality and stories, because the student in the book passes his exams, but they would fail. This would cure them of any postmodern shit.

Looking at the back of the book, I think I actually payed 20 DM for it. I dimly remember buying it when I was living in Bielefeld. There were not that many books in English in the book store (I think I also picked up a book by Anne Rice that I read in a graveyard.