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Cover of The Ginger Man by J. P. Donleavy

The Ginger Man

by J. P. Donleavy

J. P. Donleavy’s blackly comic novel of a charming American disaster drinking and scheming his way through postwar Dublin.

Published
1955
Setting
Dublin
Shelf rating
4.1

The story, briefly

Spoiler-free

Sebastian Dangerfield drinks, borrows, chases women, avoids responsibility, and leaves chaos behind him across postwar Dublin. Donleavy turns poverty, appetite, bad behavior, and relentless survival into a dark comic performance.

What's inside

An American student in Dublin ricochets through debt, affairs, marriage, friendship, and schemes while refusing every invitation to become responsible.

Why we recommend it

  1. A charming disaster

    Dangerfield’s poverty, sex, black comedy, and spectacular irresponsibility echo Miller at his most reckless.

What this book explores

Book editions

Paperback edition cover
Paperback
Grove Press
2010
ISBN-13
9780802144669

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References

References

The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document The Ginger Man, its publication, and its place in literary history.

  1. 1The Ginger Man

    Novel
    Olympia Press, 1955
    Used for

    Primary source for the novel and its publication record.

i
Why these sources are here

The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.

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