New Releases by Roddy Doyle

“A showdown between mother and daughter that is about as emotionally painful as it gets.” —Fiona Maazel, The New York Times A powerful, moving mother-daughter story filled with struggle and redemption by Booker-Prize winning author Roddy Doyle At sixty-six, Paula Spencer—mother, grandmother, widow, addict, survivor—has finally started to live her life. She has a job at the dry cleaners she enjoys, her boyfriend Joe is a text away when she needs him, and her four children now have the healthy families and petty dramas that Paula could have only hoped for. Despite its ghosts, Paula has started to push her past aside. That is until her eldest, Nicola, turns up on her doorstep one day. Nicola is everything Paula wasn’t—independent, affluent, a loving wife and mother, a “success”—but now she is suddenly determined to leave it all behind. She has left her family and come to stay. As Nicola gradually confides in Paula the secret that unleashed this moment of crisis, mother and daughter must untangle past memory, trauma, and revelations to confront what they mean to each other—and who they want to be. A timely and powerful novel of regrets, reparations, and reconciliations, The Women Behind the Door is a delicately devastating portrait of shame and the inescapable shadow it casts over families. Many readers will welcome the chance to reconnect with this strong, singular character whom we have seen in The Woman Who Walked into Doors and Paula Spencer, but all readers will be glad to have Paula in their life now.

Bisi Adigun and Roddy Doyle’s centenary adaption of J. M. Synge’s classic The Playboy of the Western World had a sold-out run when it was produced at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre in 2007 and was brought back by popular demand in 2008. The new version is set in a contemporary Dublin pub and features the character of a Nigerian asylum-seeker in the lead role. Under the coauthorship of Bisi Adigun, artistic director of Arambe Productions—Ireland’s first African theater company—and best-selling, Booker Prize–winning novelist Roddy Doyle, the play engages with issues of race and immigration in modern Ireland and, when first released, aimed to be a model for intercultural collaboration. This critical edition features the full text of the play, published for the first time, along with a collection of essays exploring the play’s themes, cultural significance, critical reception, and the legal case that cut short its successful production run. Though the play was first produced over a decade ago, the topic of migration has only increased in its global importance over that time, and this adaptation of Playboy remains a popular touchstone among scholars of Irish theater and immigration.

THE PHENOMENAL MEMOIR OF A NATIONAL TREASURE After Kellie Harrington won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, the Irish public recognized her as not merely a sporting hero, but a deeply inspirational human being. Now, Kellie tells the story of her unlikely journey to the top, and of the many obstacles and setbacks she overcame along the way. Growing up in Dublin''s north inner city, Kellie was in danger of going down the wrong path in life before she discovered boxing. The local boxing club was all-male and initially wouldn''t let her join, but she persisted. She was not an overnight success. For years she struggled in international competition. At times she felt unsupported by the national boxing set-up. More than once she considered giving up the sport. But some spark of ambition and love for boxing kept her going, and gradually she made herself world class. Writing with Roddy Doyle, the award-winning author of The Commitments, Kellie tells the story of her unlikely rise to greatness and her continuing dedication to living a normal life - which has involved remaining an amateur boxer and keeping the job she loves, at a Dublin psychiatric hospital. She shares exceptionally vivid and revealing details about being a woman in a historically male sport, and about how she manages her body and her mind. It is a vastly inspiring look inside the life and psychology of a woman who is both brilliantly ordinary and utterly exceptional.

“[Doyle] imparts a sense of poignancy and glimpses of happiness, of grief and loss and small moments of connection . . . you’re left feeling close to dazzled.” —Daphne Merkin, New York Times Book Review A brilliantly warm and witty portrait of our pandemic lives, told in ten heartrending short stories, from the Booker Prize–winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha Love and marriage. Children and family. Death and grief. Life touches everyone the same. But living under lockdown, it changes us alone. In these ten beautifully moving short stories written mostly over the last year, Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle paints a collective portrait of our strange times. A man abroad wanders the stag-and-hen-strewn streets of Newcastle, as news of the virus at home asks him to question his next move. An exhausted nurse struggles to let go, having lost a much-loved patient in isolation. A middle-aged son, barred from his mother’s funeral, wakes to an oncoming hangover of regret. Told with Doyle’s signature warmth, wit, and extraordinary eye for the richness that underpins the quiet of our lives, Life Without Children cuts to the heart of how we are all navigating loss, loneliness, and the shifting of history underneath our feet.

With contributions by: William Boyd, Candice Carty-Williams, Imtiaz Dharker, Roddy Doyle, Pico Iyer, Robert Macfarlane, Andy Miller, Jackie Morris, Jan Morris, Sisonke Msimang, Dina Nayeri, Chigozie Obioma, Michael Ondaatje, David Pilling, Max Porter, Philip Pullman, Alice Pung, Jancis Robinson, S.F.Said, Madeleine Thien, Salley Vickers, John Wood and Markus Zusak ''This story, like so many stories, begins with a gift. The gift, like so many gifts, was a book...'' So begins the essay by Robert Macfarlane that inspired this collection. In this cornucopia of an anthology, you will find essays by some of the world''s most beloved novelists, nonfiction writers, essayists and poets. ''You will see books taking flight in flocks, migrating around the world, landing in people''s hearts and changing them for a day or a year or a lifetime. ''You will see books sparking wonder or anger; throwing open windows into other languages, other cultures, other minds; causing people to fall in love or to fight for what is right. ''And more than anything, over and over again, you will see books and words being given, received and read - and in turn prompting further generosity.'' Published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of global literacy non-profit, Room to Read, The Gifts of Reading forms inspiring, unforgettable, irresistible proof of the power and necessity of books and reading. Inspired by Robert Macfarlane Curated by Jennie Orchard

Two old friends reconnect in Dublin for a dramatic, revealing evening of drinking and storytelling in this winning new novel from the author of the Booker Prize winning Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha One summer''s evening, two men meet up in a Dublin restaurant. Drinking pals back in their youth, now married and with grown up children, their lives have taken seemingly similar paths. But Joe has a secret he needs to tell Davy, and Davy has a sorrow he wants to keep from Joe. Both are not the men they used to be. Joe has left his wife and family for another woman, Jessica. Davy knows her too, or should - she was the girl of their dreams four decades earlier, the girl with the cello in George''s pub. As Joe''s story unfolds across Dublin - pint after pint, pub after pub - so too do the memories of what eventually drove Davy from Ireland: his first encounter with Faye, the lively woman who would become his wife; his father''s somber disapproval; the pained spaces left behind when a parent dies. As the two friends try to reconcile their versions of the past over the course of one night, Love offers a delightfully comic yet moving portrait of the many forms love can take throughout our lives.

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE FOR COMIC WRITING 2019** Meet Charlie Savage: a middle-aged Dubliner with an indefatigable wife, an exasperated daughter, a drinking buddy who’s realized that he’s been a woman all along… Compiled here for the first time is a whole year’s worth of Roddy Doyle’s hilariousseries for the Irish Independent. Giving a unique voice to the everyday, he draws a portrait of a man – funny, loyal, somewhat bewildered – trying to keep pace with the modern world (if his knees don’t give out first).

From the author of the Booker Prize winning Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, a bold, haunting novel about the uncertainty of memory and how we contend with the past. "It''s his bravest novel yet; it''s also, by far, his best." -- npr.org “The closest thing he’s written to a psychological thriller."– The New York Times Book Review Just moved into a new apartment, alone for the first time in years, Victor Forde goes every evening to Donnelly’s for a pint, a slow one. One evening his drink is interrupted. A man in shorts and a pink shirt comes over and sits down. He seems to know Victor’s name and to remember him from secondary school. His name is Fitzpatrick. Victor dislikes him on sight, dislikes, too, the memories that Fitzpatrick stirs up of five years being taught by the Christian Brothers. He prompts other memories—of Rachel, his beautiful wife who became a celebrity, and of Victor’s own small claim to fame, as the man who would say the unsayable on the radio. But it’s the memories of school, and of one particular brother, that Victor cannot control and which eventually threaten to destroy his sanity. Smile has all the features for which Roddy Doyle has become famous: the razor-sharp dialogue, the humor, the superb evocation of adolescence, but this is a novel unlike any he has written before. When you finish the last page you will have been challenged to reevaluate everything you think you remember so clearly.

It''s the summer holidays and Rover is busy searching for poo. He works for The Gigglers, small furry creatures who make sure grown-ups are nice to their kids. If they aren''t, they get the Giggler Treatment - a smelly, squishy present on the end of their shoe, which is where Rover comes in. But Rover and his nephew Messi (who is actually very tidy) are distracted from their job by a Big Fat Baby (B.F.B) who''s fallen out of her Granny''s backpack. It''s time for Rover to find the B.F.B, even if it means chasing a postie all over the city, following an aeroplane to Casablanca and leaving the Gigglers with a poo shortage... The fourth title in the madly funny Giggler series and illustrated throughout by Chris Judge, this is Booker Prize-winning Roddy Doyle at his hilarious, brilliant best.

«Roddy Doyle è un genio.» J.K. Rowling «Roddy Doyle ha ridefinito da solo, almeno su questa sponda dell’Atlantico, cosa debba intendersi per narrativa letteraria.» Nick Hornby «Roddy Doyle è un indagatore delle profondità più nascoste del cuore: dell’amore, della sofferenza e della sconfitta.» Joseph O’Connor Frutto di una sorprendente collaborazione con Roddy Doyle, l’autore del fortunatissimo Paddy Clarke ah ah ah!, questo libro racconta la vita del capitano del Manchester United e della nazionale irlandese, Roy Keane. Fuori e dentro il campo, Keane ha saputo coniugare il talento con la sregolatezza; ha sempre capito quando era il momento di trascinare la squadra o quando l’unica scelta possibile era stendere l’avversario a costo di beccarsi un cartellino. Il secondo tempo ci parla delle sfide, delle vittorie, delle sconfitte e dei sacrifici che lo hanno trasformato in un campione leggendario. Ma soprattutto ci permette per la prima volta di scendere negli spogliatoi e di sedere al suo fianco in panchina, di sentire davvero le emozioni e le paure che un calciatore prova nel corso della carriera: gli scontri con i compagni e con gli avversari, la competizione durissima, il rapporto quotidiano con gli infortuni e il dolore. E su tutto, la consapevolezza di essere sempre appesi a un filo, di vivere una vita privilegiata e sognata da molti, che però può finire da un momento all’altro per un fallo subito in partita o per uno screzio con l’allenatore. La penna inconfondibile di Roddy Doyle coglie a fondo la verità di un mondo speciale e regala ai lettori un nuovo e gustosissimo modo di assaporare il gioco del calcio. «Roddy Doyle lascia ogni volta i suoi lettori senza fiato.» The Sunday Times «Uno dei maggiori scrittori irlandesi viventi.» la Repubblica «Roddy Doyle è una specie di eroe nazionale. È colui che ha fatto conoscere al mondo la realtà dell’Irlanda d’oggi.» Irish Independent

The Black Dog of Depression has descended over the adults of Dublin. Uncles are losing their businesses, dads won’t get out of bed, mothers no longer smile at their children. Siblings Raymond and Gloria have had enough and set out one night with one goal in mind: to stop the Black Dog, whatever it takes. In a chase through the streets and parks and beaches of Dublin, the children run after the Black Dog, and soon dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of kids join in their fight. They discover they have one weapon against the Black Dog. The weapon is a word: “brilliant.” Illustrated throughout by a bright new talent and told through the masterful dialogue for which the acclaimed Roddy Doyle is known, Brilliant is a very special book with a storybook feel.

''ENDLESSLY ABSORBING'' Mail on Sunday ''MASTERPIECE'' The Times ''RUTHLESS'' Daily Telegraph ''INCOMPARABLE'' Sunday Mirror ''SEARINGLY HONEST'' The Sun The No.1 bestselling memoir of Roy Keane, former captain of Manchester United and Ireland In a stunning collaboration with Booker Prize-winning author Roddy Doyle, Roy Keane gives a brutally honest account of his days as a player, the highs and lows of his managerial career and his life as an outspoken ITV pundit. As part of a tiny elite of football players, Roy Keane has had a life like no other. His status as one of football''s greatest stars is undisputed, but what of the challenges beyond the pitch? How did he succeed in coming to terms with life as a former Manchester United and Ireland leader and champion, reinventing himself as a manager and then a broadcaster, and cope with the psychological struggles this entailed? THE SECOND HALF blends anecdote and reflection in Roy Keane''s inimitable voice. The result is an unforgettable personal odyssey which fearlessly challenges the meaning of success.

An imaginative short story inspired by real events, taken from the collection, BEYOND THE STARS, and written and illustrated by two award-winning talents

Jimmy Rabbitte is terug. Hij is nu zevenenveertig, heeft een liefhebbende vrouw, vier kinderen... en darmkanker. Wanneer hij na een afspraak in het ziekenhuis door Dublin loopt ontmoet hij twee oud-bandleden van The Commitments: de terminaal zieke Outspan Foster en de nog altijd bloedmooie Imelda Quirk. Algauw wordt Jimmy ook herenigd met zijn verloren gewaande broer Les... De Guts en de Glorie is een warme, humoristische roman over vriendschap en familie, waarin de dood en de keuze om te blijven leven centraal staat.

LONGLISTED 2015 – International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award A triumphant return to the characters of Booker Prize-winning writer Roddy Doyle''s breakout first novel, The Commitments, now older, wiser, up against cancer and midlife. Jimmy Rabbitte is back. The man who invented the Commitments back in the 1980s is now 47, with a loving wife, 4 kids...and bowel cancer. He isn''t dying, he thinks, but he might be. Jimmy still loves his music, and he still loves to hustle--his new thing is finding old bands and then finding the people who loved them enough to pay money online for their resurrected singles and albums. On his path through Dublin, between chemo and work he meets two of the Commitments--Outspan Foster, whose own illness is probably terminal, and Imelda Quirk, still as gorgeous as ever. He is reunited with his long-lost brother, Les, and learns to play the trumpet.... This warm, funny novel is about friendship and family, about facing death and opting for life. It climaxes in one of the great passages in Roddy Doyle''s fiction: 4 middle-aged men at Ireland''s hottest rock festival watching Jimmy''s son''s band, Moanin'' at Midnight, pretending to be Bulgarian and playing a song called "I''m Goin'' to Hell" that apparently hasn''t been heard since 1932.... Why? You''ll have to read The Guts to find out.

In the first volume of the Barrytown Trilogy, Roddy Doyle, winner of the Booker Prize for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, introduces The Commitments, a group of fame-starved, working-class Irish youths with a paradoxical passion for the music of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding and a mission—to bring Soul to Dublin. Doyle writes about the band with a fan''s enthusiasm and about Dublin with a native''s cheerful knowingness. His book captures all the shadings of the rock experience: ambition, greed, and egotism—ans the redeeming, exhilarating joy of making music. The Commitments is one of the most engaging and believable novels about rock''n''roll ever written, a book whose brashness and originality have won it mainstream acclaim and underground cachet.

A Barrytown, un quartiere popolare di Dublino, un gruppo di ragazzi decide di fondare un complesso di soul e rythm and blues, ispirandosi ai grandi del genere, da James Brown a Otis Redding. La squadra è composta, tra gli altri, da Jimmy Rabbitte, il manager del gruppo; Joey The Lips, il mitico trombettista che ha suonato con tutti i grandi del rock; Deco, il cantante che geme come Otis; le tre irresistibili coriste che ancheggiano sulle note di Sex Machine. La band si chiamerà I Commitments, per esprimere un impegno radicale, senza mezzi termini. Tra successi e disastri, amicizie e litigi, amori imprevisti e abbandoni clamorosi, il leggendario esordio di Roddy Doyle racconta i giovani raccogliendo e reinventando, con risultati strepitosi, il loro parlato.

È il 1968. Paddy Clarke ha dieci anni. Adora il calcio – il suo idolo è George Best –, Geronimo e accendere fuochi. Odia gli zoo, i baci, la bacchetta del signor Hennessey (il suo insegnante, detto Henno), e soprattutto il suo fratellino. Sogna di diventare un missionario come padre Damien e nel frattempo costringe i McCarthy a fare la parte dei lebbrosi. Sa che non bisogna mai tirarsi via le croste dalle ginocchia prima che sia ora di farlo. Paddy ha un migliore amico, Kevin. I loro nomi si trovano ovunque, a Barrytown, incisi nel cemento fresco. Insieme costruiscono capanne, suonano i campanelli e poi scappano... Paddy vorrebbe tanto sapere perché nessuno lo ha aiutato quando Charles Leavy gli si è scagliato contro e perché, per essere amici di qualcuno, bisogna sempre odiare qualcun altro. Se solo mamma e papà la smettessero di litigare... Sincero, allegro, tremendamente triste e spesso tutte queste cose insieme, Paddy Clarke ah ah ah! descrive il mondo con gli occhi e il linguaggio inventivo e illuminante di un bambino.

Two men meet for a pint in a Dublin pub. They chew the fat, set the world to rights and take the piss. They talk of their wives, children, pets, football teams and about the Euro. In their fashion they mourn the deaths of Whitney Houston and Robin Gibb.

I bambini la sera non vogliono mai andare a letto. Tranne il 24 dicembre. Ma non sanno che Babbo Natale è davvero nei guai e che i loro regali sono seriamente in pericolo. Rudolph, la renna più forte e più veloce, che sa orientarsi a occhi chiusi tra le stelle, la renna più esperta negli atterraggi sui tetti, la renna che canta volando da un paese all’altro, è in sciopero. Babbo Natale sa che c’è solo un animale in grado di sostituire Rudolph: un cane di nome Rover! Riuscirà l’astuto elfo inviato da Babbo Natale a convincere il cane più furbo del mondo – quello che vendeva la cacca ai Ridarelli - a lavorare gratis per una notte intera?Un volo a perdifiato intorno al globo terrestre, una corsa contro il tempo, tra demenziali intervalli pubblicitari, capitoli capricciosi, lucertole in amore, e imprevisti esotici di ogni genere... È una notte speciale: stavolta anche i bambini possono viaggiare con Babbo Natale, e dal cielo cade zucchero invece che neve. Una notte magica e piena di risate, che solo il genio di Roddy Doyle poteva creare.

«Roddy Doyle è un genio.» J.K. Rowling «Roddy Doyle ha ridefinito da solo, almeno su questa sponda dell’Atlantico, cosa debba intendersi per narrativa letteraria.» Nick Hornby «Roddy Doyle è un indagatore delle profondità più nascoste del cuore: dell’amore, della sofferenza e della sconfitta.» Joseph O’Connor Jimmy e Danny: due fratelli tanto uniti e tanto somiglianti da sembrare gemelli. Una coppia apparentemente inseparabile, che la vita, però, riesce a dividere. Finché si ritrovano, dopo vent''anni, davanti una birra in un pub irlandese. Che cosa li ha allontanati? Tornerà tutto come prima? Chissà... «Roddy Doyle lascia ogni volta i suoi lettori senza fiato.» The Sunday Times «Uno dei maggiori scrittori irlandesi viventi.» la Repubblica «Roddy Doyle è una specie di eroe nazionale. È colui che ha fatto conoscere al mondo la realtà dell’Irlanda d’oggi.» Irish Independent

A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle is a touching story about love, family, and the power of memories. This book is a celebration of life, legacy, and the unbreakable ties that bind us to those we cherish. Named a Best Book of the 21st Century (So Far) by Kirkus This heartwarming and poignant tale spans four generations of women in an Irish family. Twelve-year-old Mary O''Hara is a spirited Dublin schoolgirl who is bravely facing the impending loss of her beloved Granny. As Granny clings to life, a mysterious young woman appears with a message that pulls Mary into an extraordinary adventure. This beautiful book, with its blend of humor and sorrow, explores the deep connections between mothers and daughters. As Mary, her mother Scarlett, her grandmother Emer, and her great-grandmother Tansey embark on a journey through memories and time, they discover the enduring bonds that unite them. Praise for A Greyhound of a Girl “A warm, witty, exquisitely nuanced multigenerational story.” –Kirkus, starred review “This elegantly constructed yet beautifully simple story, set in Ireland and spun with affection by Booker Prize–winner Doyle, will be something different for YA readers. These four lilting voices will linger long after the book is closed.” –Booklist, starred review "Written mostly in dialogue, at which Doyle excels, and populated with a charming foursome of Irish women, this lovely tale is as much about overcoming the fear of death as it is about death itself." –Publishers Weekly, starred review

It''s 1924, and New York is the centre of the universe. Henry Smart, on the run from Dublin, lands on his feet. After the 1916 Rebellion, Henry Smart is running from the Republicans for whom he committed murder and mayhem. Lying to the immigration officer, avoiding Irish eyes that might recognise him, hiding the photograph of himself with his wife because it shows a gun across his lap, he throws his passport into the river and forges a new identity. He''s a handsome man with a sandwich board, behind which he stashes hooch for the speakeasies of the Lower East Side. He catches the attention of the mobsters who run the district and soon there are eyes on his back and men in the shadows. It is time to leave, for another America... The Depression is sending folks to ride the rails in search of a new life and new hope, and all trains lead to Chicago. As Henry’s past tries to catch up with him, he takes off on a journey to the great port, where music is everywhere. Chicago is wild and new, and newest of all is the music. Furious, wild, happy music played by a man with a trumpet and bleeding lips called Louis Armstrong. His music is everywhere, coming from every open door, every phonograph. But Armstrong is a prisoner of his colour; there are places a black man cannot go, things he cannot do. Armstrong needs a man, a white man, and the man he chooses is Henry Smart.

Grainne''s birth mother is coming to visit from America - a mum she has never seen before. As Grainne nervously waits for her arrival, her step-mother and two half-brothers decide to take a break. They are off to Finland for an adventure holiday, riding dog-sleds at a remote lodge. But when their mum is lost in the snowy wastes, the stage is set for a novel in two voices: a frantic story of seeking and finding which shrieks with nail-biting tension. A tale of snow and ice, and of courage and survival, this gripping story from world-class author Roddy Doyle will take your breath away.

From the internationally acclaimed, bestselling novelist -- his first ever non-fiction book: a poignant, illuminating journey through a century of modern Ireland as told through the eyes of his parents. Ita Doyle: “In all my life I have lived in two houses, had two jobs, and one husband. I’m a very interesting person.” Rory and Ita tells -- largely in their own words -- the story of Roddy Doyle’s parents’ lives from their first memories to the present. Born in 1923 and 1925 respectively, they met at a New Year’s Eve dance in 1947 and married in 1951. Marvellous talkers, with excellent memories, they draw upon their own family experiences (Ita’s mother died when she was three -- “the only memory I have is of her hands, doing things”; Rory was the oldest of nine children, five of them girls); and recall every detail of their Dublin childhoods -- the people (aunts, cousins, shopkeepers, friends, teachers), the politics (both came from Republican families), Ita’s idyllic times in the Wexford countryside, and Rory’s apprenticeship as a printer. When Roddy’s parents put down a deposit of two hundred pounds for a house in rural Kilbarrack, on the edge of Dublin, Rory was working as a compositor at the Irish Independent. By the time the first of their four children was born, he had become a teacher at the School of Printing in Dublin. Then, their home began to change (“Kilbarrack wasn’t a rural place any more”) along with the rest of the country, as the intensely Catholic society of their youth was transformed into the vibrant, complex Ireland of today. Rory and Ita’s captivating accounts of the last century, combined with Roddy Doyle’s legendary skill in illuminating ordinary experience, make a story of tremendous warmth and humanity. This magnificent book is not only a biography of, but also a love letter to Roddy’s parents, Rory and Ita.

Meet the Rabbitte family, motley bunch of loveable ne''er-do-wells whose everyday purgatory is rich with hangovers, dogshit and dirty dishes. When the older sister announces her pregnancy, the family are forced to rally together and discover the strangeness of intimacy. But the question remains: which friend of the family is the father of Sharon''s child? By the bestselling author of The Commitments, now a long-running West End stage show. ''Unstoppable fun. A big-hearted, big-night out'' The Times

Siobhan missed her mother dearly. Ever since she had gone, she spent her days reminiscing about the time they spent together. She remembered her mother''s voice singing and her mother''s hands combing her hair, but no matter how hard Siobhan tried she could never see her mother''s face.

Reading level: 3 [orange].

Stories that take a new slant on the immigrant experience, from the Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha Roddy Doyle has earned a devoted following amongst those who appreciate his sly humor, acute ear for dialogue, and deeply human portraits of contemporary Ireland. The Deportees is Doyle''s first-ever collection of short stories, and each tale describes the cultural collision-often funny and always poignant-between a native and someone new to the fast-changing country. From a nine-year- old African boy''s first day at school to a man who''s devised a test for "Irishness"to the return of The Commitments''s Jimmy Rabbitte and the debut of his new multicultural band, Doyle offers his signature take on the immigrant experience in a volume reminiscent of his beloved early novels.