The Oh My God Delusion
The Oh My God Delusion is a 2010 novel by Irish journalist and author Paul Howard, and the tenth in the Ross O'Carroll-Kelly series. [2]
 | |
| Author | Paul Howard |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Alan Clarke |
| Cover artist | Alan Clarke |
| Country | Republic of Ireland |
| Language | English |
| Series | Ross O'Carroll-Kelly |
| Genre | Comic novel, satire |
| Set in | Dublin, 2009 |
| Publisher | Penguin Books |
Publication date | 7 October 2010[1] |
| Media type | Paperback |
| Pages | 422 |
| ISBN | 978-1-84488-175-8 |
| 823.92 | |
| Preceded by | Rhino What You Did Last Summer |
| Followed by | NAMA Mia! |
The title refers to Richard Dawkins's book The God Delusion and to the expression "Oh my God".
Plot
As the economic crisis deepens, Ross and his family continue to struggle financially, with Ross moving to a ghost estate. Additionally, he and his friends face being stripped of their Leinster Schools Senior Cup medals.
Reception
In The Irish Times, Dan Sheehan wrote that, in The Oh My God Delusion, "Howard has taken what should have been a small-scale parody with a rapidly approaching sell-by date and turned it into one of the most enduring satirical figures in the Irish literary canon."[3]
Dublin news website The Liberty scored it 3/4, Alannah McMahon writing that "the novel reads a little stale. It feels as though he has released the same book nine times [sic] and the story hasn’t really gone very far at all. It remains sublime as a social satire, yet as a novel it seriously lacks the imagination and creativity it so sorely needs to remain the phenomenon it has become."[4]
The Irish Independent praised it, but noted that "if there is one quibble with The Oh My God Delusion, it would lie in the not very subtle message that the financial tsunami we're battening down against can have any redemptive features whatsoever. That's the kind of smug bullshit we've had to endure in the last few months from a commentariat that seems secretly delighted that the average proles have had some manners put back on them."[5]
It won the Irish Popular Fiction prize at the Irish Book Awards.[6][7]
In a survey, carried out to mark Eason and Sons' 125th anniversary, The Oh My God Delusion was named Ireland's favourite book.[8][9][10]
References
- "Stock up for the long winter nights". Independent.ie.
- O'Carroll-Kelly, Ross (October 7, 2010). The Oh My God Delusion. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 9780718192082 – via Google Books.
- "Roysh on the money". The Irish Times.
- "Review: The Oh My God Delusion by Ross O'Carroll Kelly". December 14, 2010.
- "Review: The Oh My God Delusion by Ross O'Carroll-Kelly". Independent.ie.
- "An Post Irish Book Awards » The Oh My God Delusion by Ross O'Carroll Kelly".
- Kennedy, Eoin Burke. "'Room' wins Novel of the Year award". The Irish Times.
- Bohan, Christine. "Revealed: Ireland's top 10 favourite books". TheJournal.ie.
- "Oh my God, Ross book voted best ever". www.irishexaminer.com. December 22, 2011.
- Wallace, Arminta. "Loose Leaves". The Irish Times.