18 Classics of LGBTQ Literature

At Swim, Two Boys cover (Image via Scribner)

10. At Swim, Two Boys

Written by Irish author Jamie O’Neill, the title of At Swim, Two Boys is an allusion to At Swim-Two-Birds, by fellow Irish author Flann O’Brien. Thanks to the stream of consciousness narrative, At Swim, Two Boys has also solicited favorable comparison to yet another Irish author, James Joyce.

The novel tells the story of two young men, Jim Mack and Doyler Doyle. Jim attends school on a scholarship (which makes the other students look down on him) and is relatively naive, though also intelligent and thoughtful. Doyler, on the other hand, withdrew from school in order to find work and support his family.

Though the two friends are initially pulled apart thanks to Doyler’s actions, they are eventually drawn together yet again. They begin swimming together in Dublin Bay, where they eventually make a pact. Doyler will teach Jim to swim and, in a year, they will swim to the island of Muglins Rock.

When that date arrives, however, it is Easter Sunday, 1916. For those of you not versed in Irish history, that is also the day of the Easter Rising, an armed insurrection launched by Irish republicans fighting British rule. It left parts of Dublin in ruins and caused the deaths of nearly 500 people, more than half of which were civilians.

Surprisingly, the two young men do indeed make their swim out to Muglins Rock, where they finally consummate their relationship. However, upon their return, they discover that they are in the midst of the uprising, with tragic consequences.