Overview

A magnificent, epic novel that explores the history of modern Ireland - the sequel to the bestselling A Star Called Henry and Oh, Play That Thing. We last saw Henry Smart, his leg severed in an accident with a railway boxcar, crawl into the Utah desert to die - only to be discovered by John Ford, who's there shooting his latest Western. The Dead Republic opens in 1951. Henry is returning to Ireland for the first time since his escape in 1922. With him are the stars of Ford's latest film, John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, and the famous director himself, who has tried to suck the soul out of Henry and turn it into Hollywood gold-dust. Ten years later Henry is in Dublin, working in Ratheen as a school caretaker. When he is caught in a bomb blast, he loses his leg for the second time. He is claimed as a hero, and before long Henry will discover he has other uses too, when the peace process begins in deadly secrecy...

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9780099546894

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<p> If you don't already know Henry Smart, The Dead Republic is an excellent place to meet him -- because it's the best of Doyle's trilogy and because in it Henry reviews his past while serving as Ford's consultant for a movie about the Irish revolution. . . . The Dead Republic is the best part of Doyle's trilogy. As Henry has aged, his creator has also matured. And here he has . . . compos[ed] a thoughtful book about a sometimes thoughtless political process. <br>-- The New York Times <br> Doyle retains his canny and surprising eye, his gift for the corporeal. . . . Doyle is a master of [dialogue]. <br>-- The Guardian <br> The Dead Republic harbors some lovely writing to go with the book's magnificent theme. . . . A fine . . . farewell to one of the more memorable protagonists in recent literature. <br>-- Denver Post<br> <br> Doyle's inventive mix of genuine film history and manic storytelling sets up his novel's powerful central themes: What does it mean to be Irish? W

Brilliant * Mail on Sunday * Told with pace and verve and bitter, black humour... Magnificent * Financial Times * Doyle's tenth novel might be called The Dead Republic, but its vision of what Smart calls the green thing is as alive as any he has given us * Independent on Sunday * There is lovely, brutal detail, as well as a grand swoop over the timeline of Ireland and America, just like the kind of film they just don't make anymore * Financial Times * This is Ireland's most famous living writer tackling one of the most crucial periods in history * Guardian *

Brilliant Mail on Sunday Told with pace and verve and bitter, black humour... Magnificent Financial Times Doyle's tenth novel might be called The Dead Republic, but its vision of what Smart calls the green thing is as alive as any he has given us Independent on Sunday There is lovely, brutal detail, as well as a grand swoop over the timeline of Ireland and America, just like the kind of film they just don't make anymore Financial Times This is Ireland's most famous living writer tackling one of the most crucial periods in history Guardian

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.

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