At Swim-Two-Birds (Great Irish Writers, 9)

"At Swim-Two-Birds" is one of the world's oddest books. It tells the story of a lazy drunken student who is living with his disapproving uncle in Dublin. In his spare time the student is writing a book about Finn MacCool, Mad Sweeney and a devil called the Pooka, who are mock-heroes from ancient Irish folklore. He is also writing a book about a Mr Dermot Trellis who, in turn, is writing a book about a gang of cowboys who escape his control and run wild in Ringsend. Enraged by the way Trellis is mistreating them, the characters write their own book in which they take revenge on their author. But Trellis is saved from execution when the book is thrown on the fire. The student passes his exams and is reconciled with his uncle. Given a watch as a reward, his thoughts turn to suicide and...

As well as being peculiar, "At Swim-Two-Birds" is one of the world's funniest books - James Joyce loved it so much he learned passages off by heart so that he could recite them at parties.