La musica è cambiata

Outstanding, joyful read for me about a middle-aged Dubliner negotiating the challenges of colon cancer while taking chances with his music revival business. Jimmie Rabbitte returns decades after his roles in Doyle’s “Barrytown Trilogy” (1987-1991). Again Doyle is the master of dialogue and a specia Leggi tutto

Jimmy Rabbitte, Jr., manager of The Commitments many long years ago, is back and he has bowel cancer. If this sounds depressing, don't worry; it's not. While we certainly go through some rather extreme ups and downs with Jimmy in this book, I can assure you, it's worth the journey and not, in the lon Leggi tutto

This is stonkingly good - I think I woke the neighbours this morning, I was laughing that hard. Jimmy Rabbitte (jnr) is now 47, happily married with kids, and has just been diagnosed with bowel cancer - then bumps into the still gorgeous Imelda Quirke from their days in The Committments, fadó fadó.. Leggi tutto

It took me until last year to read the three books that became the Barrytown Trilogy and made Roddy Doyle's name, of which the first, 'The Commitments' immortalised the name of Jimmy Rabbitte Jr, then the manager of the band, now in this novel, a 47 year old with a family, still involved in the musi Leggi tutto

This is a wonderful book. Funny, sad, warm, tragic, profane. It had me laughing out loud on the train, and there were also a couple of moments when I welled up too. Jimmy Rabbitte has stomach cancer. He is dying. But then we are all dying (I know, a bundle of laughs so far). This shows how he and his Leggi tutto

Whew! I finished my Roddy Doyle 4-book marathon with this one, although I will definitely be back to read more of his work in the near future. My review is a little long, so I apologize in advance. I knew going into this novel that the main character here has been diagnosed with bowel cancer, and I w Leggi tutto

Rabbite At Rest. It's interesting how Doyle's 'Barrytown' trilogy, like The Simpsons, started off being all about the son and became all about the father. Over a quarter of a century after he first appeared in The Commitments,m it's nice to see Jimmy Rabbitte Junior take centre stage again. The last Leggi tutto

I rarely give up on a book, but I am afraid that this one has beaten me. I have always enjoyed the movie adaptations of Roddy Doyle's books, and so when I heard that a follow up to the Commitments was coming soon, I looked forward to reading it. There is no doubt a very good story in here, however,

I would have given this five stars, only that I believe that Doyle's original Barrytown Trilogy, The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van are perfect in capturing a viewpoint of and the essence of North-Side Dublin life. The language, the wit and the never-say-die attitude to daily life are infected Leggi tutto

I listened to the audiobook after reading the book last year as it's my book club's choice this month. The audiobook got a higher rating from me than the print book. To really enjoy this book completely you have to hear it! The narrator does the Dublin accents perfectly bringing the prose alive. It