Andrew Lawless
Andrew Lawless is the founding editor of Three Monkeys Online. Originally from Dublin, Andrew is now based in Italy where he writes for Three Monkeys. His areas of interest include literature, music, and Italian history/politics.
By Andrew Lawless - Articles published in Three Monkeys Online
Carry me down - M.J. Hyland in interview
The first person narrative of a troubled young Irish boy, told in M.J.Hyland's second novel Carry Me Down...
American Purgatorio
Employing diverse structures, including the seven deadly sins, dante, and the American coast-to-coast road-trip, John Haskell's debut novel has been described as 'wildly original' (by Geoff Dyer, no less) and 'remarkable'. Haskell spoke to TMO about Am...
Balancing the Renaissance - Tim Parks on Medici Money
Fifteenth Century Florence was the centre of the artistic explosion we now term the renaissance. It was also home to the relatively new profession of banking, which, for families like the Medici, created the wealth which was used to patronise the arts. En...
The Musical Manifesto - These Were The Earlies (in interview)
Good Music didn't start with Punk in 76; you don't need to be a virtuouso to come up with a melody; and just because Daniel Johnson gig hamfists the piano like he's got mittens on, doesn't mean that that's shit. Anglo-American band The Earlies decl...
Samuel Johnson is indignant - TMO meets Lydia Davis
Even the best writers, at times, need to waste some words to work their way into a story. Few have been as daring as American author Lydia Davis, whose stories, on occasion, have been no more than two lines. Davis, also a novelist and sought after transla...
Sexuality, Sin, and Sacrifice - Deconstructing the Patriarchy. An interview with Dr. Mary Condren
Dr. Mary Condren's ground-breaking work The Serpent and the Goddess(1989) examined the relationships between women, religion and power in Celtic Ireland. The themes brought up, though, are as relevant today as ever. In interview with TMO, Dr Condre...
Forza Cork City! It's a Love Affair
Cork City have an unofficial fan club in the most unlikeliest of places - Italy. With the thrills of Serie A at their disposal, two football fans from Bologna, tired of polemics, politics, and pettiness decided to go in search of a 'purer football'...
Ancient Americans - Rewriting the History of the New World. Charles C. Mann in interview.
Science writer Charles C. Mann's latest book Ancient Americans could easily be subtitled 'everything you know about the Americas pre-Columbus is wrong!' It takes into account developments in fields such as archaeology, anthropology, geology and his...
Howl - Action and Reaction with the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's latest album Howl sounds like a huge departure, veering away from feedback towards country blues, but Robert Turner, the band's bassist, explains to Three Monkeys Online how it's simply part of the ongoing process of i...
Gendered Monsters - Art and politics in the representation of St. George and the Dragon
Dr. Samantha Riches discovered, almost by accident, a significant and intriguing tradition of clearly depicting St. George's dragon with a gender (usually female). In interview with Three Monkeys Online she discusses that tradition, and its possible motiv...
Gimme Fiction - Spoon in interview
American band Spoon's latest album Gimme Fiction has been hailed by the critics on both sides of the Atlantic, being the sound of an band at the height of their powers. But, after talking with drummer Jim Eno, Three Monkeys suggests that Gimme F...
Spending imaginative capital - Michel Faber and The Fahrenheit Twins.
The Fahrenheit Twins, is the new collection of short stories by Michel Faber, author of the novels Under the Skin and The Crimson Petal and the White. In interview with Three Monkeys Online, Faber discusses the short story format, ref...
The People's Act of Love - Author James Meek in interview
Longlisted for the Man Booker prize, The People's Act of Love is James Meek's third novel. Lauded for its language, originality, and narrative, the book has garnered acclaim from critics and fellow novelists. Meek, an accomplished journalist and wr...
The New Turkey -Reflections from Istanbul.
Much disccusion on Turkey's accession to the EU comes from Europe looking outwards. Chris Morris, though, lived and worked in Turkey for four years as a BBC correspondent. Three Monkeys Online discusses reform, accession, freedom of speech, and political ...
Football and Fascism - The creation of Italy's Serie A
Italy's Serie A is one of the world's best loved footballing championships, watched by millions. In interview, Simon Martin, author of Football and Fascism - The national game under Mussolini, outlines the fascist roots of the championship, ...
Using Genre to Effect - Neil Gaiman
Anansi Boys is the latest novel from English writer Neil Gaiman. Gaiman, the author of the influential Sandman comic series, acclaimed novel American Gods, and a number of Film and TV scripts talks to Three Monkeys about genre hopping...
The difference between a cow and a sheep - the British Sea Power interview experience
With songs dedicated to Atlantic sea shelves, or with references to the French revolutionary calendar, it should come as no surprise that British Sea Power are far from conventional. Three Monkeys Online are still dazed from their encounter with the band ...
Cinegael Paradiso, The story of a second generation Irish film director. Robert Quinn in interview
Robert Quinn grew up in a cinema. Really. The son of a film-maker, Bob Quinn, who embarked on a mission to bring film-making to rural, gaelic speaking Ireland, Robert did in fact grow up in a Cinema which doubled as a family home. In the metaphoric sense,...
Counting the dead. The Iraq Body Count.
While George W. Bush and Tony Blair have consistently re-assured their electorates that all possible precautions have been taken to protect civilians in the conflict in Iraq, they have provided no data to support this. The Iraq Body Count has compiled inf...
The most irresponsible occupation. Liz Jensen, author of The Ninth life of Louis Drax talks about writing.
With The Ninth Life of Louis Drax, her fifth novel, Liz Jensen seems to be getting the recognition and profile that her varied and inventive work deserves. The book is currently in the process of being turned into a film by literary director Anthon...
Excreting Songs - Glen Hansard of the Frames
With the release of Burn the Maps, Irish band the Frames find themselves in a curious position. While they've released five studio albums, and have played on some of Ireland's biggest stages over the last fourteen years, outside Ireland they are vi...
On the brink of believability. Rupert Thomson's Divided Kingdom
Divided Kingdom, the latest novel from Rupert Thomson, presents a dystopian view of an immaginary, but current day Britain. Three Monkeys Online interviews the author Jim Crace defined as 'a risk taker'. ...
The Ratzinger Report - An introduction to Pope Benedict XVI
How political will Benedict XVI's Pontificate be? What will his stance be on Neo-Liberalism? Will 'pelvic politics' dominate his reign? Three Monkeys Online discuss Benedict XVI with veteran Vatican correspondent, John L. Allen jr....
A beginner's guide to globalisation. Paul Kingsnorth in interview.
Trevor Manuel, the South African Minister for finance, famously commented on the rise of global protest movements, “I know what they’re against but I have no sense of what they’re for”. Paul Kingsnorth, the one time editor of The Ecologist,...
Cosa Nostra - rebranding the Mafia.
John Dickie's Cosa Nostra is one of the first serious attempts to examine the Sicilian mafia from an Historian's perspective. In interview with Three Monkeys Online, Dickie, a senior lecturer of Italian History at the University of London, explains...
The Fight to Choose- Italy's referendum on medically assisted conception.
Italy on Sunday 12th and Monday 13th of June will go to the polls in a referendum to vote on four motions modifying last year's law 40/2004 on medically assisted procreation. Or rather, some Italians will go to vote, while others will heed the advice offe...
Those burnt tongue moments - Chuck Palahniuk in interview
Critics rage that his books are for readers who don't read books, while his sustainers label him the king of 'minimalism'. His latest book Haunted is both a bestseller and an attempt to re-define horror. Palahniuk, in interview with Three Monkeys O...
Guantánamo - Why you need to care.
The legal black hole that keeps 'suspects' detained by the US military in Guantánamo is not just an issue for liberals. From a pragmatic as well as moral perspective the system created in response to the September 11th attacks needs to change ...
The drama of it all - I am Kloot in interview
I am Kloot frontman, Johnny Bramwell, discusses drama and songwriting with Three Monkeys Online. The Manchester band's third album, Gods and Monsters has its ambiguities, but don't tell Bramwell that it could mean anything - the interpretation isn'...
We need to talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver in interview
We need to talk about Kevin has deservedly placed Lionel Shriver on the shortlist for this year's Orange Prize shortlist. The American writer discusses the relationship between art and violence, feminism and publishing, and defends her decision to ...
Blair's Wars - The absence of clear political consequences. An interview with John Kampfner.
In an interview with John Kampfner, the Political Editor of The New Statesman, and author of Blair's Wars, we discuss Tony Blair's foreign policy, his decision to go to war in Iraq, and the implications of a British general election that the...
Searching for the Bookends - The Twilight Singers' Greg Dulli in interview
He fronted the Afghan Whigs for fifteen years. His latest band, The Twilight Singers involve a huge range of collaborators. He plays with various bands, and released a covers album, She Loves You, which was one of the surprise gems of last year. Gr...
From Fertility Symbol to Political Propaganda - Decoding the Massa Marittima Mural.
In 2000, in the small Tuscan town of Massa Marittima, a bizarre mural depicting a tree covered in phalluses was uncovered by restoration workers. Through close analysis of the images and symbolism, historian George Ferzoco argues that this painting tells ...
Where tragedy, tractors and comedy meet. Marina Lewycka in interview.
Her first novel, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, has been shortlisted for the Orange Prize, against the odds for a writer over 50. It's a page turning comedy with a dark edge and some genre breaking surprises. Marina Lewycka talks to Thre...
My Generation - Thea Gilmore in interview
Lyrical, literate and outspoken, Thea Gilmore is a true independent. Her albums have won critical acclaim, and ever widening record sales. She talks to Three Monkeys Online about her songs, poetry, politics and how Nirvana qualify as 'folk'....
After the Flood - Aid, Conflict, and the political Future of Aceh
The Tsunami that devestated Aceh, Indonesia on the 26th of December last year has paradoxically brought the world's attention momentarily to this troubled province. We speak to MSF's James Lorenz and American Journalist William Nessen, to get a...
Clones, Criminals, and Plotted Sex - Jenny Davidson, author of Heredity in interview.
First time novelist, Jenny Davidson, talks about her novel Heredity, by way of cloning, 18th century literature, and the pointed mobilization of explicit sex for a larger plot purpose....
Identity correction - Yes Men style. Interview with Andy Bichlbaum.
The World Trade Organisation may not be the funniest transnational administrative body, but as a target for satire, in the hands of the Yes Men, it's tragically comic. Challenging unthinking assumptions about free trade and corporate responsibility, while...
Pusher Grannies, Landmines and Lush Vegetation. Laos - a Travelogue.
Laos has the unusual and unfortunate distinction of being the most heavily bombed, per capita, country in the world. Lacking infrastructure, and, some would say, business acumen, it's an unlikely tourist magnet. For those who make it there though, it is a...
The legendary Andrew Loog Oldham, in interview
He is the man who discovered/created the Rolling Stones. He's a record producer who's produced stars like The Stones, Donovan, Jimmy Cliff and Bobby Womack. He's the author of two volumes of autobiography that bring the reader into the heart of the Sixtie...
The Poet of Prose - Jim Crace in interview.
In an extensive interview, Jim Crace, author of titles such as Quarantine, Being Dead and Six, discusses his work to date, future novels, and how he perceives his work....
Tales of torture, and so on - Jon Ronson, author of The men who stare at goats, in interview
It may well be a sign of the times, that a humorist is left with the responsibility of informing the public about torture. In his book The Men who stare at goats Jon Ronson presents human portraits of some of the US Military, whose ideas have in pa...
Where do the songs come from? Polly Paulusma in interview.
While she won't discuss her lyrics, believing that songs should stand on their own two feet, Polly Paulusma nontheless has plenty to talk about. The Cambridge graduate talks to Three Monkeys about the inspiration for her songs, music business intrigues, a...
The Punk Pornographer - Melissa Panarello, author of One Hundred Strokes of the Brush before Bed, in interview.
The publication of 100 Strokes of the Brush before Bed scandalised Italy, and (as you might imagine) topped the bestsellers list for months. Author, Melissa Panarello, talks to Three Monkeys Online about pornography, literature, sincerity, and femi...
From Autumn to Ashes
Melodic, Heavy, Hardcore with influences ranging from Iron Maiden to Billy Joel? A contradiction in terms? From Autumn to Ashes should have contradiction tattooed on their forheads - but that's part of what makes them interesting. Front man Ben Perri in ...
One foot in the past - Dark country music, Blanche Style. Blanche in interview.
Their debut album, If we can't trust the doctors, provided one of the starkest and most welcome country/americana records of recent times. Detroit band Blanche, associates of Jack White of the White Stripes, talk about nostalgia, inspiration, and J...
Never Apologise. Never Explain - Therapy? Live in Bologna
Three Monkeys caught Therapy? on the first date of their European Tour in support of Never Apologise. Never Explain, their new album. ...
Godhead - Jason Miller in interview
Godhead are an interesting proposition, spanning diverse styles from Goth and Industrial through to metal. Currently recording the follow up to their succesful Evolver album, frontman Jason Miller talks about the new album, writing for film, and ha...
The Electric Michelangelo - Man Booker shortlist author Sarah Hall in interview.
Her first novel Haweswater won the Commonwealth prize for a first novel, while her second, The Electric Michelangelo, was one of the shortlist titles for this year's Man Booker Prize. Sarah Hall in interview with Three Monkeys Online talks a...
Sinister Nexus - Berlusconi and the culture of corruption. David Lane in interview.
David Lane, author of Berlusconi's Shadow, and long time business and finance correspondent in Italy for The Economist has spent a long time focussing on Silvio Berlusconi's rise to power, and the political culture that has allowed it. David...
The Gringo Trail - Mark Mann in interview
Before Alex Garland's The Beach, Mark Mann wrote what remains the classic 'backpacking' novel, The Gringo Trail. A tragi-comic account of a trip through South America, blending Culture, Comedy, and Drugs....
Dispelling the myth. The realities of organ trafficking. Professor Nancy Scheper-Hughes in interview.
Forget about urban legends, and mysterious stories. There is a well documented trade in body organs, flowing from south to north. Professor Nancy Scheper-Hughes, of Organs Watch, has spent a number of years uncovering the systems that profits from the sal...
Wild Cat Strutting Thing - Interference in interview
The Interference, were one of Ireland's most influential bands. Skeptical? It's enough to look at the credits on their self produced album, which looks like a who's who of Irish Music. A crisis in Self Confidence and a reluctant Music industry silenced th...
What they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School – or the Economics of Terrorism. Loretta Napoleoni in interview.
While so many have framed the 'war on terror' in religious and cultural terms, Loretta Napoleoni is convinced that the analysis should be done on economic territory. Her fascinating book "Terror Inc." offers many unsettling but important insights into how...
Must I paint you a picture - Billy Bragg in interview
A quick listen to Bragg's compilation of last year Must I paint you a picture will quickly show his diversity as a songwriter, musician and political activist. He talks to Three Monkeys about Englishness, songwriting, nuance, and inevitably Politic...
A set of moving paintings – Making The Bridge of San Luis Rey. An interview with Director Mary McGuckian.
The Bridge of San Luis Rey, is the eagerly awaited film adaptation of Thornton Wilder's 1927 Pulitzer prize winning novel. Tony Blair quoted it in the memorial for September 11th victims, and it has taken on a new resonance, but Irish Director Mary...
Crisis in Caracas - but for whom? Hugo Chavez and the recall referendum in Venezuela.
Venezuela, since the arrival of President Hugo Chavez, has seen an attempted coup, a general strike, and an opposition movement violently opposed to what has been termed the "Bolivarian Revolution". On August 15th the latest strategy to oust Chavez, the r...
Extending the shoreline - an interview with Chet Raymo
Professor Chet Raymo has spent a lifetime writing about science, nature, religion and wonder. In his latest book, Climbing Brandon, he examines the unique spirituality of the early Celtic Christian Church....
Status Anxiety - an interview with Alain de Botton
The author who brought us How Proust can change your life and The Consolations of Philosophy, returns with a book examining the source of a very modern anxiety - Status....
In the Shadow of Cotopaxi - the festival of La Mama Negra, Latacunga, Ecuador
In an annual festival, the people living in the shadow of the Volcano Cotopaxi, high in the Ecuadorian Andes, offer gifts to La Mama Negra. Who is the Mama Negra? Is it a Catholic festival? Why are they spitting rocket fuel over the crowd? W...
Under a decidedly different Tuscan Sun- Cooking with Fernet Branca - James Hamilton-Paterson in interview
Admired by writers as diverse as Michael Ondaajte and Alex Garland, James Hamilton-Paterson's latest novel Cooking with Fernet Branca is a comedy set in the Tuscan Hills (where the author lives). A delicious page turner, with a dark heart. Not sur...
Out of the Ashes - The search for Jewish identity in the Twenty-First century
Out of the ashes, Professor Marc H. Ellis's latest book, is subtitled the search for Jewish identity in the twenty-first century. In interview with Three Monkeys, he discusses crucial questions on the subject of the Israel/Palestine conflic...
Getting away with Murder. Corporate Responsibility in the Congo.
Western Governments in 2000 signed an OECD agreement on Corporate Responsibility. Evidence emerging from the Civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo suggests that this agreement is little more than PR though. Western companies have been shown to...
Whisky con Ron - Salsa Celtica
A Scottish Salsa band, with trad musicians thrown into the mix, bringing a punk rock ethos and some celtic soul to the latin world. Salsa Celtica talk to Three Monkeys Online....
Bloomin' Marvellous! Joyce and Trieste.
Joyce is forever associated with Dublin, which is as it should be, but let's not forget that he wrote much of his work in Trieste. Dr John McCourt has recently published The Years of Bloom: James Joyce in Trieste 1904-1920, re-assessing the impact ...
It's only a game? Football violence, from the sociologist's perspective.
From its orgins in the 13th Century, through to Euro 2004, Football has always had an association with violence. Dr Peter Marsh of the Social Issues Research Centre, has studied the link between football and violence for a number of years. In interview wi...
Dark Days Indeed - Firewater in interview
Musically and Politically out of step in America - Firewater are making some of the best albums around at the moment. Founder member Tod A. talks to Three Monkeys Online....
When is Genocide not Genocide? Recognising the Armenian Genocide, eighty-nine years on.
In 1915, as reported at the time, the Armenian people of eastern Anatolia suffered massacres, forced evictions, and what we would now call Genocide. Eighty-nine years later, there are still countries including the US, Turkey and Israel that refuse to reco...
Islam on-line. Adapting to the digital age.
Like other major religions Islam is coming to terms with the reality of the web. One of the few academics to have actively studied the growing presence of Islam on the web is Professor Gary R.Bunt - Three Monkeys Online spoke with him about his research....
A Venetian Affair - Andrea di Robilant in interview.
Highly recommended by the critics, Andrea di Robilant's first book A Venetian Affair recounts the factual story of a doomed love affair in 18th Century Venice - that of his own ancestor. ...
Nothing New - Globalization, Economics, and the 19th Century
Globalization is far from new - International trade was arguably more developed and free in the 19th Century. Economist Professor Kevin O'Rourke talks to Three Monkeys Online...
The Shaman from Harvard - Wade Davis in interview
He's written about the Amazon, South American History and Politics, Zombification, traditional drug use - the list goes on. Wade Davis, of National Geographic talks to Three Monkeys Online....
Lacuna Coil - in interview
Lacuna Coil have become one of Italy's biggest musical exports of recent years. Their last album Comalies received rave reviews. In interview with Three Monkeys Online....
The Multi-Culturalist. William Dalrymple in interview with Three Monkeys Online Magazine.
Award winning writer William Dalrymple discusses his novel White Mughals, Islam, Multiculturalism and History with Andrew Lawless for Three Monkeys Online....
Betrayal in Naples - Neil Griffiths in interview - Three Monkeys Online
Betrayal in Naples is the promising first novel from English writer Neil Griffiths. Andrew Lawless spoke with Griffiths about Naples, the Camorra, novel writing and blogs - for Three Monkeys Online....
The Smoking Gun? Oil in Iraq as a motive for war.
It's commonplace to hear the accusation and denial that oil is the real reason behind the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq - but what are the facts? Andrew Lawless spoke to James A. Paul, executive director of the Global Policy Forum, which monitors policy...
Holy Cross - The Dilemmas of docudrama
Holy Cross is a BBC docudrama, directed by Mark Brozel, focussing on events that occured outside Holy Cross school in Northern Ireland in 2001. In interview with Three Monkeys Online magazine, Director Mark Brozel talks about the process of making the fil...
Therapy? - in interview with Three Monkeys Online
Therapy? remain one of the finest, and loudest rock bands to have come out of Ireland. Bassist Michael McKeegan talks to Three Monkeys Online about the band's history, and plans for the future....
Without a voice. Dublin band Steerage turn to the tunes.
Steerage are making waves in a Dublin scene traditionally dominated by singer/songwriter fronted bands. They play excellent, articulate, engaging tunes - without the vaguest hint of a singer....
The Dante Club - Matthew Pearl talks to ThreeMonkeys
The Dante Club is riding high in the bestselling charts in America, and also in Europe. Author Matthew Pearl discusses his work, as well as American culture, the historical novel, and the enduring popularity and relevance of Dante....
American Gothic - Josh Ritter brings his brand of Americana to Europe
On the eve of the European release of his second album "Hello Starling". Josh Ritter spoke to ThreeMonkeys about touring, literature, the politics of protest, and Serenades! ...
The Republic Unveiled. France and the Hijab.
Controversy has been sparked throughout Europe with the recent legislation enacted in France, which bans the wearing of the veil in state schools. Paul Silverstein PhD, an editor of the Middle East Report and Professor of Anthropology at Reed Colle...
Judge Savage?- Tim Parks in Interview
In a wide ranging interview, Booker Prize shortlist writer Tim Parks talks about his latest novel Judge Savage, writing, football, Italy, and James Joyce....
The Euro - Friend or Foe?
Two years on from the introduction of the Euro, opinion remains divided. ThreeMonkeys talks to former economist at the Central Bank of Ireland and Economic Advisor to the Minister for Trade, Professor Ray Kinsella, of University College Dubl...
The Frames put their sights on Europe
Hugely successful in Ireland, but little known in the world at large. Is that all about to change? ThreeMonkeys interviews Joseph Doyle of the Frames as they finish their latest album....
Reviews by Andrew Lawless published in 3Monkeys Online
Don't Believe the Truth - Oasis
Album #6 from Oasis, not counting live albums and b-side compilations. ...
The Flood - by David Maine
A retelling of Humanity's most famous disaster story, in this debut novel from American writer David Maine....
Magpie by Stephen Fretwell.
Debut album from Scunthorpe singer-songwriter Stephen Fretwell. It's a smile free zone, but with classic tunes....
Snow - Orhan Pamuk
IMPAC prize winning Orhan Pamuk returns with an overtly political, but not polemical, novel dealing with the tensions below the surface in modern day Turkey....
Let's Bottle Bohemia - The Thrills
Second Album from the California obsessed Irish band....
Scribbling the Cat - Travels with an African Soldier, by Alexandra Fuller
Alexandra Fuller's second book tells the story of a trip taken with one of the violent survivors of Rhodesia's White Army. ...
Firewater - The Man on the Burning Tightrope
New York Film Noir, Vaudeville Rock 'n' Roll of a Friday night!...
The Waifs - Up all Night
Acoustic folk from one of Australia's most successful independent bands....
