The Informer [Paperback]

Liam O'Flaherty (Author)

Book Description

Series: Harvest/HBJ Book | Publication Date: July 17, 1980

A tale of temptation, betrayal, and reprisal, this powerful novel is set in the aftermath of the Irish Civil War. It tells of Gypo Nolan, who informs on a wanted comrade. The source of the Academy Award-winning film directed by John Ford. Preface by Denis Donoghue.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Liam O'Flaherty (1896-1984) was born in the Aran Islands of Ireland. He performed a number of odd jobs before writing his first novel in1923. Awarded the Irish Academy of Letters Award for Literature, O'Flaherty wrote fourteen novels, a number of short stories, and countless other works. The Informer was first published in 1925.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (July 17, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156443562
• ISBN-13: 978-0156443562
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #763,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Story, August 8, 2005

By 

Howard J. Herskovitz - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Informer (Paperback)

This is a good novel about Ireland's ongoing troubles. It spares us the contrived world of the Clancy brothers and rebel songs. The story is set in the years after the establishment of the Irish Free State. The protagonists, unlike in the movie, are not patriots per se but rather communists or IRA members who wanted complete independence from the United Kingdom. Gypo Nolan and his victim Frankie McPhilip are less than valued members of the organization. The story deals with successful efforts to track down Gypo who informed on Frankie. It is noted that Gypo betrayed Frankie to the police not to the Black and Tans as in the movie. It is a gripping story and it is also a good antidote to stories of the noble Irish and the evil Brits. Please note carefully O'Flaherty's description of the leader of the organization. The author was a member of the Communist Party who had a somewhat different take on the situation in Ireland. If you want an alternative view of the Irish troubles which is also a good read this is the book for you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fenian Hulk Finks on Friend, Fatally Fails to Flee, January 10, 2006

By 

Robert S. Newman "Bob Newman" (Marblehead, Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Informer (Paperback)

In the confused political situation in Ireland between 1916 and 1925, all kinds of ideologies competed, common criminals took up party work only to revert to their original callings. Leaders were betrayed, assassinated, jailed. The long dream of independence came to life, but in a fog of disappointment and disillusion. When the dust settled, all the brilliant men lay dead. O'Flaherty has set his novel in the politico-criminal underworld of this period, with a large dollop of that disillusion. Nobody comes out smelling like a rose. Gypo Nolan, the main character, harbors great physical strength, but little brain. Unlike most protagonists, he thinks little. The author describes his feelings or changes of mood, an interesting tack to take. Gypo informs on a former colleague in the Party, who is promptly surrounded by the police and gets shot dead during the standoff. With his 20 pound reward burning a hole in his pocket ( it might have been equivalent to about 20 weeks pay for a worker), Gypo treats a crowd to fish and chips, then drinks, fights, and whores, giving a big part of his loot away to a sad woman he meets by chance. The Party suspects Gypo, who fingers an innocent man. At the subsequent "trial", the truth comes out. Gypo is locked up, but escapes. The denouement is not long in coming.

THE INFORMER is fast paced, highly descriptive. I felt that sometimes the urge to describe everyone and everything in detail got the better of the author, his descriptive style began to resemble a Thomas Hart Benton mural, with each individual a caricature of a `type' or a `stock character'. The "firm jaws", the "mouths belonging to an average Irishwoman of the middle class", "he looked like a waiter thrown out of employment through old age".....very graphic, colorful, but somehow cartoonish. Anyway, little gripes aside, this is a novel that will hold your attention. It hangs together very well, connecting Irish history and society with a film-noir atmosphere of suspense, action, and intrigue. It catches the Dublin and the Ireland of the time, now changed out of all recognition by prosperity and respectability. And more luck to Ireland for that.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not great, August 4, 2003

By 

Thor Vader "Herr Director" (Beverly Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Informer (Paperback)

A review of this book is most fair when it is broken into three sections of 60 pages each. The first two sections are fantastic as it takes us through the story of Gipo, a man haunted by informing on his best friend. O'Flaherty does a fantastic job of painting the scene of poverty in Dublin that would lead to someone informing on their buddy... and then we have the pleasure of watching him use the blood money. If it ended on page 120, I would definitely give the book 5 stars.

The last 60 pages are very boring and drawn out. Whereas the story could have been a fascinating tell of the above mentioned material, the last is so obvious, that it is physically painful waiting for the conclusion.

All in all, the book is a great study in the darker side of human behavior. I am glad that I read it for that reason. However, the climax leaves a lot to be desired.