If you want to learn about life of the ordinary person in Dublin, the ones who never really rode the Celtic Tiger, your best contemporary literary source for that just might be the novels of Roddy Doyle (Ireland, 1958). I read five of his novels in 2012 and hope to read five more in 2013.
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This novel tells itself mostly through dialogue, which I really liked. The conversations are just great. There is a lot of alcohol consumed, some conflicts and turmoil. Doyle really lets us see how getting started in a band in Dublin works. He made me feel I was there in the band. I think Joey the Lip made the novel for me!
From the movie
The Commitments is the first novel in The Barrytown Trilogy which includes The Snapper, about the out of wedlock pregnancy of Jimmy's sister, and The Vans when we see the lads a bit older setting up a food van. I have already started The Snapper and I really like it so far.
The Commitments is a fast read. I read parts of it on a long car ride and parts waiting around a government office. It is very entertaining and the conversations, the lads do use a lot of what some would find offensive language but it seemed real to me.
3 comments:
It's one of my favourite novels and the film is completely true to the book and very, very, funny!
My favourites of Roddy Doyle are 'Paddy Clarke ha ha ha' and 'The Woman who walked into doors'
Kathleen Jones-am rereading your great biography of Katherine Mansfield
Valerie Sirr, I have read The Woman Who Walked Into Doors and hope to read Paddy Clarke ha ha ha in 2013.
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