Synopses & Reviews
Eight funny and poignant stories of immigrant experience in contemporary Ireland.
The eight tales in Roddy Doyles first-ever collection of stories have one thing in common: someone born in Ireland meets someone who has come to live there. In "Guess Who's Coming for the Dinner," a father who prides himself on his open-mindedness when his daughters talk about sex is forced to confront his feelings when one of them brings home a black man. "New Boy" describes the first day of school for a nine-year-old boy from Africa; while in "The Pram," a terrifying ghost story, a Polish nanny grows impatient with her charge's older sisters and decides in a new phrase she has learned to "scare them shitless." In "57% Irish," a man decides to devise a test of Irishness by measuring reactions to three things: Riverdance, the song "Danny Boy," and Robbie Keane's goal against Germany in the 2002 World Cup. And in the wonderful title story, Jimmy Rabbitte, the man who formed The Commitments, decides that its time to find a new band a multicultural outfit that specializes not in soul music but in the folk songs of Woody Guthrie.
This is classic Roddy Doyle, full of his unmistakable wit and his acute ear for dialogue. With empathy and insight, The Deportees and Other Stories takes a new slant on the immigrant experience, something of increasing relevance in today's Ireland.
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"[I]mbued with Doyle's trademark wit and insight into the Irish character." Booklist
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"Every selection reflects the author's mastery at creating authentic dialog and a realistic sense of place." Library Journal
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"[W]hat might have been entertaining as a newsprint monthly series seems slight in book form." Kirkus Reviews
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"Doyle's work is purposefully rough around its edges, textured with authentic dialogue and sooty sentimentality." San Diego Union-Tribune
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"Doyle's fiction has always been a rich mix of profane humor and poignant drama, and he hits that balance in miniature in these stories." St. Petersburg Times
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"Just when it seemed that the only author left who gives a pig's whistle about writing superb short stories is Alice Munro, along comes Doyle with this superlative book of short tales to pick up the slack." Minneapolis Star Tribune
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"The stories take on different shadings...but they're uniformly infused with Doyle's infectious sense of humor and lovingly profane dialogue." Miami Herald
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"[An] easy excursion into the new Irish culture, conveyed with Doyle's usual brilliant sense of originality, sly charm and wry wit." Seattle Times
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"[A] worthy accomplishment." Christian Science Monitor
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"Doyle's mastery of ordinary Dubliners' speech informs all these stories and lends them an urgent credibility." Los Angeles Times
Synopsis
The eight tales in Doyle's first-ever collection of stories have one thing in common: someone born in Ireland meets someone who has come to live there. Full of the authors unmistakable wit and his acute ear for dialogue, this collection takes a new slant on the immigrant experience.
Synopsis
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.
About the Author
Roddy Doyle has written eight novels, including The Commitments, The Van, The Woman Who Walked into Doors, A Star Called Henry, and, most recently, Paula Spencer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 1993 for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. He has also written four screenplays as well as several stage plays and books for children and young adults, most recently Wilderness.