A wildly comic send-up of Irish literature and culture, <em>At Swim-Two-Birds</em>is the story of a young, lazy, and frequently drunk Irish collegestudent who lives with his curmudgeonly uncle in Dublin. When not inbed (where he seems to spend most of his time) or reading he iscomposing a mischief-filled novel about Dermot Trellis, a second-rateauthor whose characters ultimately rebel against him and seekvengeance. From drugging him as he sleeps to dropping the ceiling onhis head, these figures of Irish myth make Trellis pay dearly for hisbad writing. Hilariously funny and inventive, <em>At Swim-Two-Birds</em>has influenced generations of writers, opening up new possibilities forwhat can be done in fiction. It is a true masterpiece of Irishliterature.