New Releases by Roddy Doyle

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.

Maggie and Jason's grandfather is dead. He's leaving Jason his camera and photographs, and Maggie a box of shells. They are gifts that will take them further then [sic] they could ever imagine, uncover secrets and transform lives .... Ten best selling, award-winning authors unite for a novel of wonders and surprise."--Back cover.

Dave, Pat and Ben are friends since childhood and they all love Liverpool fottball club. On a trip to see their heroes in action Dave & Pat chat up two local girls, but Ben goes missing.

The sequel to Roddy Doyle’s beloved novel A Star Called Henry – an entertaining romp across America in the 1920s Fleeing the Irish Republican paymasters for whom he committed murder and mayhem, Henry Smart has left his wife and infant daughter in Dublin and is off to start a new life. When he lands in America, it is 1924 and New York City is the center of the universe. Henry turns to hawking cheap hooch on the Lower East Side, only to catch the attention of the mobsters who run the district. In Chicago, Henry finds a newer America alive with wild, happy music played by a man with a trumpet and bleeding lips called Louis Armstrong. But in a city also owned by the mob, Armstrong is a prisoner of his color. He needs a man--a white man--and the man he chooses is Henry Smart.

Mr Mack is out of a job and sets his mind to inventions - whilst unbeknownst to him Mrs Mack decides to walk around the world without telling anyone. But, Mr Mack's inventions get him into trouble when he's arrested for inadvertently holding up a bank. It's up to his children and their amazing dog, Rover, to track down Mrs Mack and save the day.

Combining Rory and Ita’s marvelous storytelling ability with Roddy Doyle’s legendary skill in illuminating ordinary experience, Rory & Ita is a book of tremendous warmth and humanity. Roddy Doyle’s first non-fiction book tells—largely in their own words—the story of his parents’ lives. They remember every detail of their Dublin childhoods—the people, the politics, idyllic times in the Wexford countryside for Ita, Rory’s apprenticeship as a printer. By the time they put down a deposit of two hundred pounds for a house in Kilbarrack, Rory was working as a compositor at the Irish Independent. By the time the first of their four children was born, he’d become a teacher at the School of Printing in Dublin. Kilbarrack began to change, and Ireland too. Through their eyes we see the intensely Catholic society of their youth being transformed into the vibrant, modern Ireland of today. “A moving and delightful book.”—Independent “As with all stories, the beauty and wonderment of [Rory and Ita’s story] comes from its being told so well.”—The Vancouver Sun “Alive with acuity and spare, punchy prose. . . . Always readable, engaging and revealing. . . . A brave and tender piece of work.”—Irish Times

When Rudolph comes down with the flu, it's up to Rover the dog and the Mack children to help Santa complete his Christmas deliveries.

A serial novel by 15 of the brightest talents in Irish writing (including Marian Keyes, Pauline McLynn, Gina Moxley and Frank McCourt), telling an elaborate tale of murder, mayhem and literary shenanigans in present-day Dublin. Approximately #1 from every copy sold will go to Amnesty International.

“This unflinching novel chronicles a woman’s relationship with a violent man in a way that brings fresh insight to the subject . . . engaging and uplifting.” —O, The Oprah Magazine From Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize-winning author of The Women Behind the Door, the heartrending origin story of Paula Spencer, a brave and tenacious housewife Paula Spencer is a thirty-nine-year-old mother of four, a blue-collar worker, an alcoholic in recovery—or maybe not. Then one day a police officer knocks on her door. From the look on his face, she can tell it’s not good news. His revelation takes Paula back to the past, to her contented childhood, the audacity she learned as a teenager, the exhilaration of her romance with her husband Charlo, and the violent marriage to him that left her powerless. Now, as she struggles to reclaim her dignity from the abuse that left her with scars and a worsening drinking problem, this new revelation threatens to shatter the fragile peace she’s built for herself and drag her back down the dark paths she thought she’d left behind. Capturing both her vulnerability and strength, Roddy Doyle gives Paula a voice that is singular and real, the story of an ordinary woman whose extraordinary character will stay with you long after this novel and into the subsequent books in his trilogy, Paula Spencer and The Women Behind the Door.

Winner of the Booker Prize – Roddy Doyle’s witty, exuberant novel about a young boy trying to make sense of his changing world It is 1968. Patrick Clarke is ten. He loves Geronimo, the Three Stooges, and the smell of his hot water bottle. He can't stand his little brother Sinbad. His best friend is Kevin, and their names are all over Barrytown, written with sticks in wet cement. They play football, lepers, and jumping to the bottom of the sea. But why didn't anyone help him when Charles Leavy had been going to kill him? Why do his ma and da argue so much, but act like everything is fine? Paddy sees everything, but he understands less and less. Hilarious and poignant, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha charts the triumphs, indignities, and bewilderment of a young boy and his world, a place full of warmth, cruelty, confusion and love.

From the Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, two plays set in the north Dublin suburb of Barrytown From novelist and screenwriter Roddy Doyle come these two colorful plays. both set in the North Dublin suburb of Barrytown. In Brownbread, three young men kidnap a bishop but soon come to realize--when the U.S. Marines invade--that their brilliant adventure is nothing more than a colossal mistake. War is set at the Hiker's Rest, a pub where two trivia addicts meet every month to answer questions posed by Denis trhe quizmaster who hates wrong answers and shoots to kill. These earthy, exuberant works show why The New York Times Book Review says Doyle's "versatility and brio...may shock the neighbors, but...you can't take your eyes off him."

Paddy Clarke grandit à Dublin. A la fin des années 60, il a dix ans et son petit monde, entre l'école et le terrain de jeux, son amitié avec Kevin, le football, et son attachement pour son petit frère, est rempli de rêves et de mystères. Paddy est à l'âge où l'on cherche son identité. Son plus grand désir, toutefois, serait de voir ses parents cesser de se disputer, mais son père finit par partir et Paddy doit affronter les moqueries dans la cour de récréation : "Paddy Clarke n'a plus de papa, ha, ha, ha !" Paddy, heureusement, possède des trésors d'énergie et d'intelligence pour détourner l'angoisse : au milieu de la mésentente qui brise son foyer va surgir en lui la ferme détermination de survivre. Avec son mélange "irlandais" de tendresse et d'humour, Roddy Doyle a su rendre l'enfance dans toute sa réalité : le temps des décisions brutales, des grands chagrins inconsolables et des infinies possibilités...

Roddy Doyle’s acclaimed Booker Prize-nominated novel, “a darker portrayal of midlife crisis and an expansively farcical chain of misadventures” (The New York Times Book Review) Jimmy Rabitte, Sr., is unemployed, spending his days alone and miserable. When his best friend, Bimbo, also gets laid off, they keep busy by being miserable together. Things seem to look up when they buy a decrepit fish-and-chips van and go into business, selling cheap grub to the drunk and the hungry—and keeping one step ahead of the environmental health officers. Set during the heady days of Ireland’s brief, euphoric triumphs in the 1990 World Cup, The Van is a tender and hilarious tale of male friendship and family life.

From the Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, the follow up to his acclaimed debut novel The Commitments Twenty-year-old Sharon Rabbitte is pregnant. She's also unmarried, living at home, working in a grocery store, and keeping the father's identity a secret. Her own father, Jimmy Sr., is shocked by the news. Her mother says very little. Her friends and neighbors all want to know whose "snapper" Sharon is carrying.In his sparkling second novel, Roddy Doyle observes the progression of Sharon's pregnancy and its impact on the Rabbitte family—especially on Jimmy Sr.—with wit, candor, and surprising authenticity.