Smile, by Roddy Doyle
Penguin Random Audio - 2017
Literary Fiction
Audiobook
Narrated by the author, Roddy Doyle
Literary Fiction
Audiobook
Narrated by the author, Roddy Doyle
5 Hours, 3 Minutes
This book in its print edition is 224 pages, so short enough to be my choice for #5 - The Quick and Easy, on my 20 for 2020 Reading Challenge. You can see the whole challenge HERE - its not too late to join - you can retroactively add any books you read in 2020!
This was a good story, but for me it fell short of its potential. I feel like I should have liked it more than I did.
As the story starts, we meet Victor Forde, a middle aged man looking for a pub to call his local after just having returned to his old neighborhood on the heels of a divorce. From here the story is told in multiple time lines. His traumatic childhood, where he attracts the attention of one of the teaching brothers at his high school, his adult life where he forges a successful career and has a beautiful, somewhat famous wife, and the present as he struggles to settle in to his new life dynamic.
It is in the present that Victor runs into Ed Fitzpatrick. He doesn't really remember Fitzpatrick at first, nor does he really like him, but he does sort of remember the mans sister - the one all the boys liked. But Fitzpatrick's sudden presence is stirring memories and emotions that Victor would rather not have, and in the final twist, Victor is forced to confront his past.
I could not say that I found listening particularly enjoyable. The copious F-bombs (and even worse language) seemed overwhelming in volume and became very tiresome. Had it not been such a short book, I might have bailed and DNF'd it. I have no objection the use of most of these words in moderation, but I found the use of them rather excessive in this book. I have always found that these words easily lose their impact when thrown around too easily; Less is more and all that.
With that said though, Doyle was very effective in creating a mood for this story - and isn't that what good writing is about; to make us feel something? It felt dark, it felt oppressive and it felt a bit...Grimy? Gritty? Disturbing?
This story was narrated by the author Roddy Doyle who did a good job of bringing voice to his characters.
Smile by Roddy Doyle is a good story, and he does a superb job of setting the mood, and yet for me, though I enjoyed it, I couldn't say that I loved it.
As the story starts, we meet Victor Forde, a middle aged man looking for a pub to call his local after just having returned to his old neighborhood on the heels of a divorce. From here the story is told in multiple time lines. His traumatic childhood, where he attracts the attention of one of the teaching brothers at his high school, his adult life where he forges a successful career and has a beautiful, somewhat famous wife, and the present as he struggles to settle in to his new life dynamic.
It is in the present that Victor runs into Ed Fitzpatrick. He doesn't really remember Fitzpatrick at first, nor does he really like him, but he does sort of remember the mans sister - the one all the boys liked. But Fitzpatrick's sudden presence is stirring memories and emotions that Victor would rather not have, and in the final twist, Victor is forced to confront his past.
I could not say that I found listening particularly enjoyable. The copious F-bombs (and even worse language) seemed overwhelming in volume and became very tiresome. Had it not been such a short book, I might have bailed and DNF'd it. I have no objection the use of most of these words in moderation, but I found the use of them rather excessive in this book. I have always found that these words easily lose their impact when thrown around too easily; Less is more and all that.
With that said though, Doyle was very effective in creating a mood for this story - and isn't that what good writing is about; to make us feel something? It felt dark, it felt oppressive and it felt a bit...Grimy? Gritty? Disturbing?
Smile by Roddy Doyle is a good story, and he does a superb job of setting the mood, and yet for me, though I enjoyed it, I couldn't say that I loved it.
Happy Reading,
Christine
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