An Embarrassment of Riches

By Gerald Hansen

Book Overview

Publishers Weekly: "The Irish family at the heart of this hilarious novel is so tawdry and despicable, it's a wonder they don't kill off each other in the first few pages. ...The central figure is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0595690831
• ISBN13: 9780595690831
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: iUniverse, Incorporated
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

hilarious one-liners and lightning quick plot

I was given this book as a birthday present from a friend of mine who thought I would like it, and she was 100% right! I don't know why I didn't immediately start reading it, but had i known what brilliance awaited me, I would have started that night. The story goes something like this: there is a wretched, horrid, woman called Fionnuala who wants her sister-in-law Ursula's lotto money. Although Ursula has a bad temper at times, she really does care about her family. But they don't seem care about her. When the family finds out Ursula has bought their childhood home, they are furious and try to make her life miserable. And boy do they succeed! I just couldn't put this book down, and I'll tell you why. There are so many other exciting subplots winding through the main story that you have to keep turning pages to find out what will happen next. There's daughter Dymphania (or however you spell that-- the names are all Irish and I am not familiar with them) and her unwanted pregnancy, son Owen and his drug dealing, and most hilarious of all, little Siofra and the horrible things she does to get money to buy a communion dress. At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to catch on to the lingo/slang (as the book is written in the local dialect of Derry) but I soon got used to it. Not only that, but I found myself soon using the flimmin effin words with my friends. The book works on so many different levels. It's a glimpse into a different, harsher life, a very black comedy, and also reveals many things about the dynamics of a (very) dysfunctional family. I highly reccomend this book. It will make you laugh out loud, and make you happy to be a member of your own family.

Crazed Jubilee

Just when you thought the situation in the story couldn't get any crazier or any worse...IT DOES! Gosh, I wish I could give you examples, but then I would give it away! It's simply astonishing that someone could even think of these situations! Gerald Hansen has a BRILLIANT imagination. Witty dialogue, wild story. A fun read when you just want to escape and be entertained! It would make a fantastically entertaining play! Can't wait for the sequel!

can't wait for the sequel

This story never stops. Just when you think you've got a grasp on what's developing, something new and delightfully shocking appears when you turn the page -- and you can't put this baby down, you can't wait to see what's going to happen next. Each character is a piece of work. A hilarious story of a nutty, depraved family that will leave you shaking your head in disbelief. What a look at human nature! Fantastic! Can't wait for the sequel! Buy this book! You'll love it (and you'll be grateful for your own family...)

Irish or not, this is a MUST read!

If the BBC had its version of The Jerry Springer Show, Fionnuala Flood and her family would be the best episode of the season! An Embarrassment of Riches is a non-stop entertaining Irish story that combines a wonderful balance of brilliant hilarity with sneaky greed and gives new meaning to the phrase "survival of the fittest." On the silver screen, this novel, without a doubt, would translate in one of the year's most amusing and compelling movies. The novel is considerably heavy in dialogue, which is excellent in that it achieves two significant points: (1) the dialogue exposes so much of each character's persona and (2) the fact that the Irish are a race of talkers. For the non-Irish reader, who might find the Irish/Derry dialect daunting, Hansen cleverly weaves a "language key" into the story in the form of a Derry-Speak Dictionary early in the book (pg. 10) to help translate unfamiliar vernacular. The plot is action packed, fast moving and never boring as it takes the reader around the town of Derry, Northern Ireland from a prison to a cathedral; a chip shop to a courtroom; a pub to a hair salon; and from a church confessional to the home of an IRA member (just to name a few). There's never a dull moment as the characters work hard to survive and obtain what they need. The topics of religion, greed and family are addressed both in a straightforward, uncomplicated manner in An Embarrassment of Riches. And although light is made of many situations, Hansen has captured the affect these topics play in the lives of his characters. If you only have time to read one book this year (or next) look no further ... this is it.