New York Times. Selected for Notable Books, 2002. “Two great causes – free Ireland and a free gay nation – coincide in this polished but energetic novel built on the hazards of love, heroism, history and tenderness, and placed in political and moral history by the Easter Rising of 1916.” NY, 8.12.02. Also selected for Books for Summer Reading. NY, 2.6.02.

Observer, UK: 25.11.01. Chosen by Adam Mars-Jones in Books of the Year: You really must read this ...

Irish Times: 8.12.01. Selected for Books of the year 2001. Also selected for Summer Books 2002, 15.6.02.

Out magazine, NY. Selected for The Out 100 “In recognition of your immeasurable contribution to gay culture” – upon the presentation of a perspex ruler. Dec ’02.

Independent on Sunday, UK: 23.12.01. Chosen by Cal McCrystal in Books of the Year. “Heartachingly beautiful.”

Globe & Mail, Canada: 25.11.01. Selected for The Globe 100: Best of the Year Books.

Guardian, UK. Chosen by Philip Hensher for Summer Reading. “This summer I want to spend some time sinking into the rich, impassioned, ceaselessly inventive world Jamie O’Neill has created in At Swim, Two Boys.” London, 29.6.02.

Boston Globe, 2.6.02. Selected by Gail Caldwell for Summer Getaways – the Best of Recent Fiction.

Daily Mail & Guardian, South Africa: 11.11.01. Selected for 101 Books for Christmas.

The Advocate Selected for Top Ten Books, 2002. NY, Dec ’03.

Spectator, UK: 17.11.01. Chosen by Francis King in Books of the Year.

Daily Mail, UK: 21.12.01. Selected for Books of the Year.

Entertainment Weekly. Selected for Top Ten Books of the Year. “Traveling along the paths of a venerable literary tradition (the Irish novel) and a newer one (the gay coming-of-age story) toward the same fascinating crossroads, O’Neill comes up with a doorstop-size dazzler: His exuberantly imagined romance between two teenage boys on the eve of Dublin’s 1916 Easter uprising is always believable, magnificently sustained, and so moving that even non-Irish heterosexuals may shed a wee tear in the end.” NY, 16.12.02.

Sunday Business Post, Ireland: 30.12.01. Selected for Best of 2001. “An outstandingly good debut from an extremely promising writer.”

Gay News, UK. Selected for Books of the Year. December 2001. And again (twice) in 2002. “A case of Sodom and Begorrah ...”

RTE Radio, Ireland. “Pulls it off so movingly ... a fantastic book ... really one of the books of the year.” Marian Finucane, Christmas Books. 17.12.01.

Read Ireland. Best Books of 2001.

Hamilton Spectator, Ontario, Canada. Selected for Summer Reading. 22.6.02.

Tulsa World, OK, 9.6.02. Selected for Summer Getaways – Transporting Fiction.

Belfast News Letter, Ireland: 17.12.01 Selected for Books of the Year.

BBC Online. Selected by Charlie Lee Potter for Christmas Crackers 2001.

RALPH (Review of Arts, Literature, Philosophy and the Humanities). Selected for Editors’ Picks, 2002. “A rich Irish stew of words and word games, an extended lyric epic.” CA, Dec ‘02. Also selected (#2) for The Very Best Books of the Last Ten Years Summer, 2003.

GayToday.com. Selected for Top Ten Books, 2002. “A nostalgic look at the good old days when men and boys would skinny dip without worrying what others might think.” Dec ’02.

Barnes & Noble. Selected for Staff Favorites, 2002. “A heartfelt meditation on identity and the human need for political, emotional, and sexual liberation ... this richly lyrical work.” NY, Dec ’02.

Yahoo! Selected for Year in Review: Best Books. Dec ’02.

Chicago Free Press. Illinois. Selected for Best Books of the Year. December, 2002.