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9780099501374

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An intimate, humane portrait of a working-class Irish woman's pleasures and struggles in her first year of sobriety.Doyle fans first met Paula Spencer in Doyle's critically acclaimed novel, The Woman Who Walked Into Doors (1996), the story of Paula's alcoholism, her marriage to the wild, abusive Charlo and their four children. This book opens eight years later, on Paula's 47th birthday. Charlo is dead, two of Paula's children are grown and have children of their own and Paula is four months and five days sober. Some big things happen in this novel-fights, sickness, reconciliation-but they are not the story's focus. Instead, Doyle employs his trademark narrative style, an almost exclusive use of dialogue and fragmented inner monologue, to convey the thousand tiny moments of despair and triumph that make up Paula's daily life. To the middle- class observer, Paula lives a drab, working-class existence cleaning houses and stadiums in Dublin. But to be an ordinary person is a source of great joy to Paula. Like a woman who has returned from the verge of death, she can't get over her luck. That she has money in her pocket and the occasional day off from work, that she is able to savor good coffee in the Italian cafe in her neighborhood where, she's pleased to note, they trust her not to run off without paying-all are sources of joy. It's grand, Paula says. As she gradually builds a new life, it's a phrase she uses again and again.Profound, subtle and unsentimental-the latest from a master back in top form. (Kirkus Reviews)

An extraordinary story about an ordinary life. <br> - People <br><br> Brilliant . . . And Paula, as she patches a self together from remnants, emerges as an inspiring heroine. <br> - The New Yorker <br><br> Beautifully nuanced and sweetly populist. <br> - USA Today <br><br> A tale of ultimate personal struggle, and told superbly. <br> - The Wall Street Journal <br><br>

[A] marvellous novel -- Carmen Callil * Financial Times * Roddy Doyle has done the impossible - he has made Paula Spencer even more unforgettable the second time round * The Times * [A] magnificent achievement * Guardian * Doyle has created a little masterwork, a gem of persuasive realism -- Tom Adair * Scotland on Sunday * An intoxicating sequel...a phenomenally rewarding read -- Euan Ferguson * Observer *

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Roddy Doyle was born in Dublin in 1958. He is the author of twelve acclaimed novels including The Commitments, The Snapper, The Van and Smile, two collections of short stories, and Rory & Ita, a memoir about his parents. He won the Booker Prize in 1993 for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.

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