A Star Called Henry - Roddy Doyle

A Star Called Henry - Roddy Doyle > Reviews > Excellent

Fiction - Modern Fiction - ISBN: 0224060198, 0676973175, 0099284480 more

Overall user rating A Star Called Henry - Roddy Doyle 5 reviews | Write a review | Add product to list

Born in the slums of Dublin in 1901, with his father as a one-legged whore-house bouncer and settler of scores, Henry Smart has to grow up fast. By the time he can walk, he's out...
more...robbing, begging, often cold, always hungry, but a prince of the streets. At fourteen, already six foot two, Henry's in the General Post Office on Easter Monday 1916, a soldier in the Irish Citizen Army, fighting for freedom. A year later, he's ready to die for Ireland again, a rebel, a Fenian and soon, a killer. With his father's wooden leg as his weapon, Henry becomes a republican legend - one of Michael Collins' boys, a cop killer, an assassin on a stolen bike. An historical novel like none before it, "A Star Called Henry" marks a new chapter in Roddy Doyle's writing. It is a vastly more ambitious book than any he has written before. Taking a subversive look behind the legends of Irish republicanism, with a passionate love story at its centre, this is a triumphant work of fiction. See all Product Description





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Excellent
A review by LorraineM on A Star Called Henry - Roddy Doyle
January 1st, 2001


Author's product rating:   A Star Called Henry - Roddy Doyle - rated by LorraineM

Would you listen to it again? Absolutely 
Story Outstanding 
Characters Outstanding 
Listenability Pretty compelling but not addictive 
How does it compare to similar audio books? Excellent 
How does it compare to audio works by the same author? Very good 

Advantages: Challenging storyline, well handled
Disadvantages: A little bleak

Recommend to potential buyers: yes 

Full review
I am Irish, but have to confess am ignorant of the troubles. I love Roddy Doyle and so this new book is a bit of a shock. All his novels deal with Ireland but this deals with the IRA and the conflict in a gripping and violent way.

Henry is a street kid who has nothing better to do than end up in the IRA. He does not know what he is fighting for, has nothing against the English but he loves the sense of belonging. This book describes the beginnings of the IRA from a soilder's perspective.

It is very well written with some humour, but not much and is excellently detailed. As always the charcters are brilliant and the narrative excellent. It is not a fast read, but it is a wonderful book and gives both the English and the Irish fairly short shrift.

This is the first in a series of three, so look out for more.  

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A Star Called Henry (The Last Roundup) - Roddy Doyle A Star Called Henry (The Last Roundup) - Roddy Doyle
The habit of murder becomes a hard one to break; the hero of Roddy Doyle's novel of the ... more
Irish War of Independence, like his father before
him, kills to order and kills in  cold blood.
Where his father was simply the one-legged bouncer
at a brothel, wh...
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