Who Thinks Ross O'Carroll-Kelly Books are Funny?

ClovenHoof · 10-03-2014 4:09pm #1

I mean, apart from people who work for the Irish Times. I was cat sitting for a friend while they were on holiday and he had few books and there was The Shelbourne Ultimatum and the Oh My God Delusion.

To say they were cringe worthy would not cover it. Not funny in the least, and more along the lines of a kind of self-impressed RTE mentality of 'gosh! I am so witty and clever!".

Can anyone explain to me the appeal of these books?

Winston Payne · 10-03-2014 4:12pm

The video in your sig is unavailable.

I've never read a Ross O'Carroll-Kelly book but I'm partial to the covers. They make me smile in the same way a terrible joke does.

kneemos · 10-03-2014 4:12pm

Ross O Carol Kelly.
Ryan Tubridy....possibly.

Legs.Eleven · 10-03-2014 4:15pm

Your friend obviously likes them if he has a few of the books in the house.

gramar · 10-03-2014 4:16pm

I've read a couple and to be honest they were a good laugh.

kneemos · 10-03-2014 4:19pm

Was it a valuable cat or something?

ClovenHoof · 10-03-2014 4:19pm

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Your friend obviously likes them if he has a few of the books in the house.

He has very poor taste in general. Nice man, but does everything the radio and TV tells him to do. He likes Westlife and whoever last won X Factor.

His favourite song is by Bryan McFadden, the cak about 'Grew up in the heart of Dublin."

Ihatecuddles · 10-03-2014 4:19pm

I think they are hilarious!!

Taking the stairs the same way you'd take the Seoige sisters....two at a time

Franticfrank · 10-03-2014 4:20pm

I've read them as well - sure it gets a bit repetitive and ridiculous but I enjoyed them. Just don't take it too seriously.

131spanner · 10-03-2014 4:20pm

I've read most of them, all bar two or three, and I think they're very funny

Penny Tration · 10-03-2014 4:20pm

I've read all of them, and love thrm. Harmless, slapstick humour.

Thataone · 10-03-2014 4:21pm

I dunno, I've never taken any particular offence to them and do actually think they can be funny... in a cringy way. But perhaps I like them because I've just moved from the arse end of bog land, culchie central, to south Dublin so it's slightly cultural

gugleguy · 10-03-2014 4:21pm

I don't get the Ross OCaroll "humour" because I don't know the inside jokes between Irish Times or RTE staff.

Idbatterim · 10-03-2014 4:23pm

the books are absolutely top notch hilarious. Some of the stuff he comes up with had me nearly in tears on multiple occasions. The satire is unreal, it is a lot funnier if you actually know the kind of people he is mocking and the places mentioned in the books...

Rough Sleeper · 10-03-2014 4:27pm

Yeah it was kinda funny around the beginning of the 2000's when the Celtic Tiger was in full swing. It's a one-trick pony and I'd imagine the kind of people who still find it funny (12 books WTF?) are the same ones who still make jokes about "ironic" moustaches or shout "Ah heor, leave it ouh" in pub smoking areas .

sabat · 10-03-2014 4:29pm

Southside rugger-buggers should be an open goal for satire but the books and columns just don't have that real element of truth to make them funny- they're just a collection of clichés and stereotypes spun out. I've never heard someone say "roysh" - it sounds more like reight with a hard t on the end.

Standman · 10-03-2014 4:29pm

mauzo! wrote: »

I think they are hilarious!!

Taking the stairs the same way you'd take the Seoige sisters....two at a time

Ah a Seoige sisters joke, that would have been hilarious 10 years ago!

wp_rathead · 10-03-2014 4:30pm

Love first few when he was in school - kinda got bleh afterwards

elefant · 10-03-2014 4:31pm

Idbatterim wrote: »

the books are absolutely top notch hilarious. Some of the stuff he comes up with had me nearly in tears on multiple occasions. The satire is unreal, it is a lot funnier if you actually know the kind of people he is mocking and the places mentioned in the books...

Pretty much the same for me. Absolutely love them.

jimgoose · 10-03-2014 4:31pm

I think they're hilarious. Excellent piss-take of the whole Celtic Tiger, Yummy-Drummy, We're-The-New-Bel-Air malarkey.

Legs.Eleven · 10-03-2014 4:34pm

I read one because I'd nothing else to read and a couple of articles and I had my fill after that. Found it reasonably funny-ish but as others have said, it's a one-trick pony. Not my cup of tea as humour goes.

thegreatgonzo · 10-03-2014 4:37pm

I loved the first 4 books and then I kind of lost track of them, I haven't read the more recent ones.

anncoates · 10-03-2014 4:40pm

It's a moderately funny joke stretched far too long.

Ihatecuddles · 10-03-2014 4:42pm

Standman wrote: »

Ah a Seoige sisters joke, that would have been hilarious 10 years ago!

Eh...it was probably written years ago! Just one that stuck in my head.

Carry on being a smart arse though, I'm sure all your books are way better

Cienciano · 10-03-2014 4:48pm

I read about 5 or them and thought they were excellent. He's funny on twitter too.
If you can't handle the legend that's ok op.

Femme_Fatale · 10-03-2014 4:49pm

Found the idea really funny in the early days. Some people didn't realise he was a parody too and their reactions were particularly gold. But yep, wearing thin at this stage IMO.

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 10-03-2014 4:57pm

I enjoy the weekly episode in the Irish Times, but I don't think I could read a whole book about him. But there's a lot of accuracy in Paul Howard's portrayal of a certain type of Blackrock College/St Michael's shallow idiot (apologies to the many intelligent nice people who also went to those schools) who judges everything by appearances and looks down on people who have actually achieved far more of substance in their lives but don't drive a BMW and wear designer shades in the middle of January and have a high salary job in daddy's company.
I have to say though, he's become a bit nicer as he gets older. But I can still only take him in small doses.

4zn76tysfajdxp · 10-03-2014 4:59pm

ClovenHoof wrote: »

He has very poor taste in general.

In friends too?

padd b1975 · 10-03-2014 5:00pm

Jumped the shark when Ronan came along.

tomh1736 · 10-03-2014 5:01pm

I find them hilarious. I think the humour from Ross and his outlook on life has got better and funnier in the later books ie the ones with his kids in them. It translates well to the stage too. Will defo be going to Breaking Dad when it opens at the Gaiety

happypants · 10-03-2014 5:02pm

Love the books, I've read them all. As a previous poster has said they're hilarious if you're familiar with the type of characters and places mentioned in the books. I've lost track of how many times I've tried to hold in a laughter fit on public transport whilst reading!!!

"Hilary swank has teeth like a rocking horse"

UncleChael · 10-03-2014 5:04pm

I've read them all! Fantastic books!

Ihatecuddles · 10-03-2014 5:04pm

tomh1736 wrote: »

I find them hilarious. I think the humour from Ross and his outlook on life has got better and funnier in the later books ie the ones with his kids in them. It translates well to the stage too. Will defo be going to Breaking Dad when it opens at the Gaiety

Me too

I loved the last one.

ibarelycare · 10-03-2014 5:07pm

I absolutely adore the books. The first few in particular were quality. The series got a little hit or miss, but for the last book or two they've been back up with the quality of old. Probably the only books I've ever really laughed out loud at.

geckovision · 10-03-2014 5:09pm

Rough Sleeper wrote: »

Yeah it was kinda funny around the beginning of the 2000's when the Celtic Tiger was in full swing. It's a one-trick pony and I'd imagine the kind of people who still find it funny (12 books WTF?) are the same ones who still make jokes about "ironic" moustaches or shout "Ah heor, leave it ouh" in pub smoking areas .

Do you come with the car?

WinnyThePoo · 10-03-2014 5:10pm

I've always enjoyed them. Very easy reading and a laugh a paragraph.

Idbatterim · 10-03-2014 5:11pm

I enjoy the weekly episode in the Irish Times, but I don't think I could read a whole book about him. But there's a lot of accuracy in Paul Howard's portrayal of a certain type of Blackrock College/St Michael's shallow idiot (apologies to the many intelligent nice people who also went to those schools) who judges everything by appearances and looks down on people who have actually achieved far more of substance in their lives but don't drive a BMW and wear designer shades in the middle of January and have a high salary job in daddy's company.
I have to say though, he's become a bit nicer as he gets older. But I can still only take him in small doses.

yeah the thing is, it is slightly exaggerated, ended up in 92 one night years ago, wasnt bothered with town, girl asks me what car I drive, I tell her and she was like "oh daddy drives one of those too". It is obviously a bit OTT for humours sake, but not as much as some might believe. Then we have KPMG girl. Also I have just tried looking for it but cant find it, will look again later, but kids from D.4 etc areas were driving out to Tallaght and throwing loaves of bread out and cash out the window in their parents german cars. Also didnt one school have a ski trip, where they would compete to show how little the money meant to them by breaking expensive phones, burning money etc? This definitely happened, will go trawling for links later...

Paul Howard directed a play based on the books didnt he? Also Damo from Damo and Ivor would be a fairly good interpretation of ROCK in my opinion...

Czarcasm · 10-03-2014 5:13pm

tomh1736 wrote: »

I find them hilarious. I think the humour from Ross and his outlook on life has got better and funnier in the later books ie the ones with his kids in them. It translates well to the stage too. Will defo be going to Breaking Dad when it opens at the Gaiety

I can't tell if that was intentional humor or not...

Yeah I read some of the books, but again, if you're not familiar with the types of characters and situations/places he writes about, the language can be a bit hard to understand, which takes away from the comedy value.

He ain't no Adrian Mole, that's for sure!

Misty Moon · 10-03-2014 5:22pm

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Found the idea really funny in the early days. Some people didn't realise he was a parody too and their reactions were particularly gold.

Misty Moon puts hands up and admits in shame that she spent quite a bit of the time reading the first one she got (Teenage Dirtbag Years) trying to figure out if she knew this guy.

'Cos I really did actually know a few that were so similar it was a bit eery. Except that I'm a year or two too old for it to have been possible.

I have to admit they're some of the few books that I do end up laughing out loud at. I got Teenage Dirtbag Years as a birthday present and couldn't wait to get the other two or three that were out at the time. Used to follow it in the Tribune sometimes, too. A few years later I was having a big clear out and decided they belonged to the pile of "have read once, never going to read again" book and got rid of them. A couple of years ago though my brother passed the latest one he had gotten on to me and I was hooked again. There were three more to catch-up on at the time and I bought them all in the airport on the way back to Germany. For a somewhat bizarre experience, try reading Champagne Mojito and Nama Mia followed by The Pope's Children and Follow the Money. :P

La_Gordy · 10-03-2014 5:24pm

Czarcasm wrote: »

He ain't no Adrian Mole, that's for sure!

I loved Adrian Mole, but I find it easier to relate to Rosser. As other people have said, it's reading about the familiar places and actually knowing people that are parodies of themselves.

tomboylady · 10-03-2014 5:28pm

They are some of the only books that will actually make me laugh out loud. I had tried to read them years ago but didn't 'get' them. After spending a year in UCD, I completely understood them and binged on back-reading all the old ones.

dee_mc · 10-03-2014 5:48pm

I love them! Laugh out loud, brilliantly funny at times. Honor is a little hard to take at times but I'm looking forward to her getting even more evil as she grows up!

Scarinae · 10-03-2014 5:52pm

I haven’t read any of the recent ones, but found the earlier ones hilarious. Honor was still only a baby in the last one I read.

Some of the guys I was in school with thought Ross was “a legend”, and didn’t seem to realise that the character was taking the piss out of people like them

shopaholic01 · 10-03-2014 5:56pm

I find them funny, they're perfect to read at the beach on holidays when you don't want to tax the brain.

Foxhound38 · 10-03-2014 6:29pm

I very much like them in fairness

MJ23 · 10-03-2014 7:03pm

He's a total Ledge.
The books were brilliant up until Champagne Mojito, sadly, everything since hasn't quite come up to the mark. Still good though.

The smell in here is Padraig.

Nermal · 10-03-2014 7:43pm

I'd be on her like a dog on a dropped waffle/seagull on a dropped 99 etc...

Standman · 10-03-2014 7:44pm

mauzo! wrote: »

Eh...it was probably written years ago! Just one that stuck in my head.

Carry on being a smart arse though, I'm sure all your books are way better

No need to take it personally, wasn't having a go at you!

Foxhound38 · 10-03-2014 7:55pm

They're a bit of an institution at this stage. Easy, funny reading - the plotlines are knowingly off the wall, but there's always a bit of sly half-serious social commentary going on in the background.

I always buy the new one each year - it's always been worth the cash I pay for it!

Say Your Number · 10-03-2014 7:58pm

His daughter is hilarious.

BlatentCheek · 10-03-2014 8:13pm

Obviously since he's been doing a book a year for over a decade at this stage along with a weekly column, and a play, any whiff of originality has long since worn off.

I wouldn't buy the books but I have to give credit to Paul Howard for managing to stretch the string out this far.

Occasionally some throwaway lines make me laugh for satirising the wankerish attitudes of the people at the top of Irish society. Like when they were going to turn his Alma Mater into a public school and loads of past pupils charged to the school in outrage to protest about "a great institution being turned into a borstal!" or when Gonzaga, a private school, was dismissed as "always the Tanaistes, never the Taoiseachs".

Who Thinks Ross O'Carroll-Kelly Books are Funny?

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