A wildly comic send-up of Irish literature and culture, At Swim-Two-Birds is the story of a young, lazy, and frequently drunk Irish college student who lives with his curmudgeonly uncle in Dublin. When not in bed (where he seems to spend most of his time) or reading he is composing a mischief-filled novel about Dermot Trellis, a second-rate author whose characters ultimately rebel against him and seek vengeance. From drugging him as he sleeps to dropping the ceiling on his head, these figures of Irish myth make Trellis pay dearly for his bad writing. Hilariously funny and inventive, At Swim-Two-Birds has influenced generations of writers, opening up new possibilities for what can be done in fiction. It is a true masterpiece of Irish literature.

弗蘭·奧布萊恩————————作者

（Flann O’Brien，1911—1966）

本名布萊恩·奧諾蘭（Brian Ó Nualláin），愛爾蘭小說傢、劇作傢、諷刺作傢。齣生於北愛爾蘭蒂龍郡斯特拉班市，畢業於都柏林大學學院，供職於都柏林地方事務部，並以筆名“邁爾斯·納·戈帕林”（Myles na gCopaleen）在《愛爾蘭時報》上長期開設專欄，撰寫諷刺性文章。作為後現代主義文學的開拓者和奠基人之一，奧布萊恩與喬伊斯、貝剋特並稱為“愛爾蘭現代文學三傑”，以其荒誕、幽默、諷刺、戲仿的獨特風格，為後世留下瞭《雙鳥渡》《第三個警察》等不朽經典，直接影響瞭唐納德·巴塞爾姆、庫爾特·馮內古特、吉爾伯特·索倫蒂諾、伊什梅爾·裏德等小說大師的創作。

韓慕照————————譯者

本名馬爽，北京外國語大學英語學院英語係畢業，英國約剋大學應用語言學碩士、愛丁堡大學發展語言學博士，現任首都師範大學外語學院英文係教師，業餘從事文學翻譯，譯有《英倫魔法師》《碟形世界：魔法的顔色》等書。