Overview

Full Product Details

9780099284482

Table of Contents

Reviews

This is really a masterpiece Irish Times This is Ireland's most famous living writer tackling one of the most crucial periods in its history... A Star Called Henry has all the hallmarks of the start of a major literary portrayal of a national experience Guardian A vibrant work of fiction - In Doyle's ambidextrous hands, the making of modern Ireland gets a vigorous and illuminating run-down Independent Doyle just gets better and better... This is history evoked on an intimate, and yet earth-shaking scale, with a driving narrative that never falters. Maybe the Great American Novel remains to be written, but on the evidence of its first instalment - this is the epic Irish one, created at a high pitch of eloquence Publisher's Weekly The energy and full-blooded dialogue of Doyle's creations are as much in evidence here as in the best of his previous work- A Star Called Henry is billed as Volume One of The Last Roundup. It is an exhilarating beginning Daily Telegraph

The energy and full-blooded dialogue of Doyle's creations are as much in evidence here as in the best of his previous work- A Star Called Henry is billed as Volume One of The Last Roundup. It is an exhilarating beginning * Daily Telegraph * Doyle just gets better and better... This is history evoked on an intimate, and yet earth-shaking scale, with a driving narrative that never falters. Maybe the Great American Novel remains to be written, but on the evidence of its first instalment - this is the epic Irish one, created at a high pitch of eloquence * Publisher's Weekly * A vibrant work of fiction - In Doyle's ambidextrous hands, the making of modern Ireland gets a vigorous and illuminating run-down * Independent * This is Ireland's most famous living writer tackling one of the most crucial periods in its history... A Star Called Henry has all the hallmarks of the start of a major literary portrayal of a national experience * Guardian * This is really a masterpiece * Irish Times *

This is really a masterpiece * Irish Times * This is Ireland's most famous living writer tackling one of the most crucial periods in its history... A Star Called Henry has all the hallmarks of the start of a major literary portrayal of a national experience * Guardian * A vibrant work of fiction - In Doyle's ambidextrous hands, the making of modern Ireland gets a vigorous and illuminating run-down * Independent * Doyle just gets better and better... This is history evoked on an intimate, and yet earth-shaking scale, with a driving narrative that never falters. Maybe the Great American Novel remains to be written, but on the evidence of its first instalment - this is the epic Irish one, created at a high pitch of eloquence * Publisher's Weekly * The energy and full-blooded dialogue of Doyle's creations are as much in evidence here as in the best of his previous work- A Star Called Henry is billed as Volume One of The Last Roundup. It is an exhilarating beginning * Daily Telegraph *

The much-loved Irish author (The Woman Who Walked Into Doors, 1996, etc.) breaks impressive new ground with this masterly portrayal of the making of an IRA terrorist - the first volume of a projected trilogy entitled The Last Roundup. In the vigorous colloquial voice that has become Doyle's trademark, Henry Smart (b. 1901) narrates the fractious events of his first 20 years, beginning with the unlikely courtship of his teenaged mother, (the ironically named) Melody Nash, by Henry's father and namesake, a one-legged boozer who works as a bouncer (and hired killer) for Dublin madam Dolly Oblong and unseen criminal impresario Alfie Gandon. In a lustily detailed story of want and woe that easily outdistances Angela's Ashes, Henry Sr. is betrayed to the police, Melody lapses into premature senility, and five-year-old Henry, accompanied by younger brother Victor, becomes a resourceful street arab. A handsome, strapping lad who learns quickly and adapts easily to violently shifting circumstances, Henry survives and, in a way, prospers - as a member of the ragtag Irish Citizen Army (during the vividly described Easter Monday 1916 cataclysm), a dockworker, the precocious lover of many women (including his teacher, later his wife, the fiery nationalist he will know only as Miss O'Shea ), and IRA gunman and murderer and a trusted protege of Michael Collins, and - in the stunning climactic pages - his father's avenger. Throughout, Doyle manages the virtually impossible feat of mingling Ireland's dark and bloody early modern history with his brilliantly imagined protagonist's own amazing story: never for a moment do we feel we're being given a history lesson, nor does Henry's forthright amorality relax its firm hold on us. Absolutely extraordinary. Readers who thought Doyle had outdone himself with the deftly juxtaposed comedy and drama in his recent fiction will be amazed and delighted all over again. (Kirkus Reviews)

Henry Smart is exceptional. Born in a Dublin slum in 1901, he is the healthiest baby anyone there has ever seen. His father, a one-legged brothel bouncer and hitman for the shadowy Alfie Gandon, disappears while Henry is still an infant; his teenage mother goes slowly mad. At age five, Henry is fending for himself; at 14, and measuring over six foot, he is the youngest combatant in the 1916 Easter Rising. By the novel's end, he has played a starring role in Ireland's wars of independence. He is 20 and disillusioned with revolution. Part mystery, part love story, part historical intervention, A Star Called Henry adds new dimensions to Doyle's trademark wit and narrative drive. Much attention will focus on his less-than-reverent treatment of the myths of Irish republicanism, but more surprising (though perhaps not unconnected) is the novels's creation of an old-fashioned action hero, one who gets the girl and all the best lines besides. If you like a man who claims 'I'd never paid for a ride before in my life', you'll love Henry Smart. (Kirkus UK)

A Best Book of '99 -- The Globe and Mail <br> Marvellous...bloody brilliant. -- The Toronto Star <br> A startling achievement...a book where war can rage and love can burrow under the skin--. A fragment of a forgotten folk song and a worm's eye view of Irish history.... A grand thing of beauty. -- The Globe and Mail <br> History evoked on an intimate and yet earth-shaking scale, with a huge dash of the blarney, some mythical embellishments and a driving narrative that never falters. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) <br> A triumph of craft and intelligence and toughness of mind. -- Hamilton Spectator <br> A masterpiece. -- The Irish Times <br> Doyle has [written an] Irish epic, and he wields the style like a sword, with the power and grace of a master. -- The Village Voice <br> Maybe the Great American Novel remains to be written, but on the evidence of its first installment, this is the epic Irish one, created at a high pitch of eloquence. -- Publishers Weekly <br> Astonishing.... Narrated with a splendor, wit, and excitement that lift Doyle's writing to a new level. -- The New York Times Book Review

Author Information

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.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available