Whereas the Candide-like picaresque of the first half persuasively evokes life under brutal totalitarianism, the identity-switching and intrigue of the second part seem to originate in little more than the need to spin a yarn.

NEWYORKER: Dear Leader

Anyone can join in the regular Victoriana-inspired Chaos Thaoghaire nights, as long as you can stand in front of a crowd and spin a yarn that is vaguely rooted in reality - and do so without notes.

BBC: Dublin's underground literary scene

Whereas the Candide-like picaresque of the first half with its absurd but fully plausible turns of the screw persuasively evokes life under brutal totalitarianism, the identity-switching and intrigue of the second part seem to originate in little more than the need to spin a yarn.

NEWYORKER: Dear Leader

"I'd ask if I could do a quick grooming" and spin the fur into yarn, she says.

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The team of researchers from Australia, the US, Canada and South Korea demonstrated motors that could spin at nearly 600 revolutions per minute, turning a weight 2, 000 times heavier than the yarn itself.

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