Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha [Paperback]

The first half of this novel captivated me. In Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, Roddy Doyle demonstrates a marvellous ability to remember what it was like to be a ten-year-old boy. In that respect, the novel is brilliant. I would describe it as a fictional memoir of childhood written from a child''s point of view. The novel is composed of a series of literary sketches, often seeming to follow no particular order, as if they spontaneously arose in Doyle''s mind and then appeared on the page like happy chance accidents. This in itself creates a wonderful, free spirited, childlike mood.

The second half of the novel dragged on a bit. A narrative became apparent: Paddy''s parents were fighting frequently and it was obvious that their marriage was breaking down. Their ultimate separation didn''t come as a surprise; I felt as though I was just waiting for the inevitable to happen.

The greatness of this novel is Doyle''s astonishing ability to catapult the reader back into the triumphs and losses of childhood, how important it is to be loved and wanted, how painful is the loneliness of a child.

Roddy Doyle was born in Dublin in 1958 and saw his first novel, "The Commitments" published in 1987. It was later adapted for the big screen, a version that saw Star Trek's Colm Meaney and a very young Andrea Corr among the cast. Doyle went on to win the Booker Prize in 1993 with "Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha".

The book is set in the 1960s Barrytown, and is told by Paddy Clarke- the eldest child of his family. Although he has a few younger sisters, it's only his younger brother Sinbad who features to any degree. He's a Manchester United supporter, and particularly idolises George Best. His chief hobbies involve playing football, and messing around with his friends on neighbouring farm and nearby building sites.

Sinbad doesn't always get a fair deal from his brother. He cries constantly, wets the bed and as a baby, he once got his head stuck in the bars of his cot. He never smiles in photos and doesn't eat his dinner - something that particularly infuriates his Paddy Sr. Despite wearing glasses with one black lens - to deal with an eye problem - he's a great dribbler on the football pitch. (Paddy and his friends used to make Sinbad be Nobby Stiles when playing football - so he stopped supporting United, and started following Liverpool).

Out of Paddy's friends, he's probably closest to Kevin Conway - though, to be honest, Kevin isn't an entirely likeable kid. James O'Keefe, for the most part, is a good deal more - deapite being, quite possibly, the biggest liar in Barrytown. O'Keefe is hated by their teacher Mister Hennessy - he even gets blamed on making noise in class when he's off sick. (Henno does appear to have a slight vindictive streak in him - in fact, he reminded me a little of a teacher I once had at secondary school). The two most likeable of Paddy's friends, however, are a pair of brothers called Liam and Aidan. The boys' mother is dead, and though their father is trying his best, he seems to be a little lost. The neighbours aren't above gossiping about him and - although they are officially part of the gang - Liam and Aidan are also on the receiving end of a fair few nasty comments. As much as Paddy loves going over to their house, even he's not immune to a touch of snobbery.

The story is told more from a child's point of view rather than by an adult looking back on things. There are some things that raised a smile - the childhood theories about Purgatory, for example - and it even inspired a touch of nostalgia sometimes. However, it's set at a time when not only is Barrytown changing, but Paddy's home life is changing dramatically too. Naturally, Paddy doesn't always understand his parents and the things they say - so it's only gradually, as the frights become more and more frequent, that you come to realise there are problems between Paddy's dad and mum. There's a certain sadness about watching Paddy grow up as the story is told, while the difference between Paddy at the book's beginning and on the book's final couple of pages is tragic. A lovely book, though very sad.

In Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha Roddy Doyle attempts--with some success-to see the way a child views, and understands, the world evolve and mature. The book starts out with Paddy a feisty 10 year old and follows him through adolescence. As Paddy grows up and starts to realize that there are real problems and issues out there that really do affect him and that he's got to come to terms with, the narration does an admirable job of maturing along with the boy.

The problem for me, as it appears to be for many to others who have commented on this book, was that I never engaged with the story on an emotional level. The story never grabs you and sucks you in. Reading this is sort of like having an out-of-body experience-you see it all, understand it all, but never develop any sort of feelings about the enterprise.

The writing style is interesting, the story moves along, there are some interesting insights. Unfortunately, this appears to be one of those books where the whole seems somehow to add up to less than the sum of it's parts. In the end you are left with a book you can appreciate but for which you have no particular fondness.