Emerald Germs of Ireland
Encyclopedia
Emerald Germs of Ireland (2001) is a black comedy
novel
by Irish
writer
Patrick McCabe. Each chapter is begun with an Irish
folk song.
He responds by ridding Ireland of "germs," however, in this case, the "germs" are people. He kills his both his father and mother, his neighbors and local visitors to he village. His list includes four-legged "germs" as he kills several donkeys.
He then digs his mother up from her grave after the removal of each succeeding "germ".
The title "Emerald Germs of Ireland" is similar to Patrick McCabes The Butcher Boy
which often brings up a music book titled "Emerald Gems of Ireland".
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
Patrick McCabe. Each chapter is begun with an Irish
Music of Ireland
Irish Music is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland.The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th, and into the 21st century, despite globalizing cultural forces...
folk song.
Plot summary
The book focuses on the life of Gullytown homeboy Pat McNab, the village idiot. The alternately adoring and criticizing attention by his mother, Maimie and the total abusiveness of his father finally send him over the edge.He responds by ridding Ireland of "germs," however, in this case, the "germs" are people. He kills his both his father and mother, his neighbors and local visitors to he village. His list includes four-legged "germs" as he kills several donkeys.
He then digs his mother up from her grave after the removal of each succeeding "germ".
The title "Emerald Germs of Ireland" is similar to Patrick McCabes The Butcher Boy
The Butcher Boy
The Butcher Boy is a 1992 novel by Patrick McCabe. It was shortlisted for the 1992 Booker Prize and won the 1992 Irish Times Irish Literature Prize for Fiction.The Butcher Boy is set in a small town in Ireland in the late 1950s...
which often brings up a music book titled "Emerald Gems of Ireland".