The Dalkey Archive
|
|
- For the publishing house, see Dalkey Archive Press.
The Dalkey Archive is a novel by the Irish writer Flann O'Brien. It is his fifth and final novel, published in 1964, two years before his death. It features a mad scientist, De Selby, who tries to destroy the world by sucking all the air out of the world. He has also very many inventions. He has exploited the theory of relativity and invented a kind of time traveling machine, where he uses to age his whiskey, creating brew that has been aged for many decades in a swift hour. St. Augustine and James Joyce both have speaking parts in the novel. James Joyce, after forging his own obituary to escape being drafted to fight in the Second World War, was serving pints in a small pub. St. Augustine, on the other hand, appeared in a magical underwater cave and held a conversation with the main character. The main character was led to this cave by the mad scientist De Selby, in which one may call upon anyone who has ever lived from the past and present and converse with them.