The Deportees: and Other Stories - Hardcover

Doyle, Roddy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670018457 ISBN 13: 9780670018451

Publisher: Viking Adult, 2008

Synopsis

A first collection of short works by the author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha depicts the immigrant experience in contemporary Ireland as reflected in the stories of a father who confronts his prejudices when his daughter brings home a black man, a nine-year-old African boy's first day in a new school, and a nanny who plots against her charge's older sisters.

About this title

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.

Reviews

Roddy Doyle, celebrated chronicler of the Irish working class and winner of the 1993 Man Booker Prize (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha), turns his attention to the immigrant experience in his first collection of short stories. The stories collected here first appeared in 800-word installments in the Dublin weekly newspaper Metro Eireann, which was founded in 2000 by two Nigerian journalists. Critics agreed that The Deportees is vintage Doyle, demonstrating his sharp wit, lively sense of humor, richly drawn characters, and ear for dialogue. They cited some problems related to the space limitations of serial publications, which result in stories that "are generally instantly engaging but not always carefully constructed" (Christian Science Monitor), but these problems were easy to ignore given Doyle’s extraordinary storytelling abilities. As in any collection, critics disagreed about which stories succeed best. By turns poignant and chilling, heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny, Doyle’s stories are as affecting as his novels.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

Doyle's dynamic first collection of short stories offers light and heartfelt perspectives on the effects of immigration on Irish culture. Originally serialized for a Dublin newspaper, all eight stories draw from the conceit of someone born in Ireland [who] meets someone who has come to live there. The opener, Guess Who's Coming for the Dinner, covers familiar ground—a self-proclaimed modern father is taken aback when his daughter invites a black fella to dinner—but Doyle's wry sense of humor saves the narrative from triteness. Fans of Doyle's previous work will revel in the title story, a follow-up to The Commitments that finds Jimmy Rabbitte masterminding a multicultural revival of Woody Guthrie music. The later stories find Doyle experimenting with different styles and voices: New Boy charts an unlikely friendship between a nine-year-old African immigrant and two small, angry Irish boys, while Black Hoodie finds a timid, indifferent teenager discovering his passion for civil rights and a Nigerian girl. There are some abrupt endings that veer toward the convenient, though this may be an unavoidable consequence of their serial origins. Doyle's immense talent as a writer is neatly showcased throughout, and his sharp wit adds a richness to every tale. (Jan.)
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Edition details

• Publisher: Viking Adult
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0670018457
• ISBN 13: 9780670018451
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256