Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men

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Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men
First edition
Author	Colin Bateman
Language	English
Series	Dan Starkey novels
Genre	Crime, Dark comedy
Publisher	UK: HarperCollins USA: Arcade
Publication date	25 April 1996 (1996-04-25)
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	333
ISBN	978-0-00-225237-9
OCLC	35785640
Dewey Decimal	823.914
LC Class	PR6052.A773 O37 1996
Preceded by	Divorcing Jack (1995)
Followed by	Turbulent Priests (1999)

Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men is the second novel of the Dan Starkey series by Northern Irish author, Colin Bateman, released on 25 April 1996 through HarperCollins.^[1] The name of the novel is a reference to the John Steinbeck novella Of Mice and Men.

Plot

Protagonist Dan Starkey is tasked with writing a book about "Bobby Fat Boy McMaster", the current heavyweight champion of Ireland, in his upcoming championship fight with Mike Tyson on St. Patrick's Day. When McMaster's wife is kidnapped, Starkey must figure out who's behind it before the varied and numerous factions that McMaster has offended, in his short time in New York, catch up with them.

Reception

With characteristic imaginative flair, Bateman works an astonishing number of issues into the plot, including racism, bigotry, religious extremism, alcoholism and inter-ethnic romance—and that's just for starters.

Publishers Weekly^[2]

The novel received generally positive acclaim, with reviewers praising the novels humour while noting that it is not of the same quality as the previous Starkey novel, Divorcing Jack.

Publishers Weekly stated that the novel is "not as tight and focused as Bateman's previous work" and notes that the novel "reflects a distinct political and religious bias, which will surprise readers who appreciated Starkey's earlier, more tongue-in-cheek approach to Northern Ireland sectarianism". They did, however, also state that: "nevertheless, Bateman delivers the kind of humour and sense of the ridiculous that his fans will relish".^[2] Kirkus Reviews took a similar stance, stating that the novel is "more relaxed and less wildly funny than Divorcing Jack or Cycle of Violence – but then that's what you'd expect when the brutality is only a game".^[3]

References

^ Of wee sweetie mice and men (Book, 1996). WorldCat.org. OCLC 35785640. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Fiction Review: Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men by Colin Bateman". Publishersweekly.com. 28 April 1997. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
^ "OF WEE SWEETIE MICE AND MEN by Colin Bateman | Kirkus Book Reviews". Kirkusreviews.com. 1 April 1997. Retrieved 12 January 2012.

External links

Official website

Works by Colin Bateman

Adult

Dan Starkey	Divorcing Jack (1995) Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men (1996) Turbulent Priests (1999) Shooting Sean (2001) The Horse with My Name (2002) Driving Big Davie (2004) Belfast Confidential (2005) Nine Inches (2011)
Martin Murphy	Murphy's Law (2002) Murphy's Revenge (2005)
Other novels	Cycle of Violence (1995)

Young-adult

Eddie & the Gang with No Name	Reservoir Pups (2003) Bring Me the Head of Oliver Plunkett (2004) The Seagulls Have Landed (2005)
Titanic 2020	Titanic 2020 (2007) Titanic 2020: Cannibal City (2008)
Others	SOS Adventures (2010–2011)

Films

Divorcing Jack (1998)
Crossmaheart (1998)
Wild About Harry (2000)
Watermelon (2003)
The Journey (2016)
Driven (2018)

TV series

Murphy's Law (2001–2007)
Rebus: "The First Stone" (2007)
Scúp (2013–2014)

Categories:

Hidden categories: