Now That's Smart Thinking; Roddy Doyle Returns, As Does His Hero Henry Smart. Prepare to Be Stunned by the Lyricism. By Hugh Macdonald

Summary

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HE'S done the funny ha ha with Paddy Clarke. He's done the funny with a soundtrack with The Commitments. He's done funny peculiar with The Woman Who Walked Into Doors. He's even done funny, with chips, with The Van.

But, like the comic who craved playing Hamlet, Roddy Doyle wanted to write The Great Irish Novel. This, at least, is the theory behind Doyle's trilogy in progress. There are two problems with this perception. First, the Great Irish Novel may just possibly have been written. Secondly, Doyle's pedigree is such that he hardly needs to seek approval from the highbrows. The man's a Booker winner, for Gawd's sake.

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Extract

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Now That's Smart Thinking; Roddy Doyle Returns, As Does His Hero Henry Smart. Prepare to Be Stunned by the Lyricism. By Hugh Macdonald

He's also a writer of great wit and not just of the humorous variety. Oh, Play That Thing follows A Star Called Henry (1999) which told the story of Henry Smart, impoverished Dubliner, turned rebel, turned IRA enforc...

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