Subtitled “An Exegesis of Squalor,” The Hard Life is a sober farce from a master of Irish comic fiction. Set in Dublin at the turn of the century, the novel does involve squalor—illness, alcoholism, unemployment, bodily functions, crime, illicit sex—but also investigates such diverse topics as Church history, tightrope walking, and the pressing need for public toilets for ladies. The Hard Life is straight-faced entertainment that conceals in laughter its own devious and wicked satire by one of the best known Irish writers of the 20th century.
- ISBN10 1564781410
- ISBN13 9781564781413
- Publish Date 17 October 1996 (first published December 1961)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 27 January 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Dalkey Archive Press
- Edition 2nd ed.
- Format Paperback
- Pages 179
- Language English