- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Vintage Canada (Oct 7 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0676975674
- ISBN-13: 978-0676975673
- Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 13.2 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 336 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,711,627 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Surprisingly, Rory and Ita is Roddy Doyle's first non-fiction book and recounts (largely in their own words) the tale of his parents' lives from their first memories to the present. Doyle is (as his publishers proudly claim) "Ireland's most famous living writer", and his storytelling acumen (matched with an impeccable knack for conveying with maximum vividness the day-to-day detail of his colourfully-drawn locales) has made his books essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary writing. He is, of course, very funny--and who says writing of real distinction should not have us laughing uproariously? Books such as The Snapper and The Commitments proved this beyond doubt.
Rory and Ita is something new in his work--rarely have a writer's parents been brought to life in such vivid, tender detail--and rarely have two outwardly ordinary people had such fascinatingly offbeat, surprising lives.
Born in 1923 and 1925 respectively, the couple have a total recall of every detail of their Dublin childhoods, their eccentric relatives and, crucially, the politics (both came from Republican families). Inevitably, some of Doyle's keenest followers may be wary of this departure from his customarily idiosyncratic novels (even the much-acclaimed A Star called Henry wrongfooted many readers with its marked departure from the areas we customarily associated with Doyle), but Rory and Ita is actually quite as entertaining as any of Doyle's fiction. His parents come across as remarkable talkers (his mother, in particular, has some very surprising tales to tell), and the book (with its rich and colourful portrait of a country caught between the backwardness of religious repression and the indomitable human spirit of its people) creates a picture of a very human and often very funny world that has now all but vanished. Doyle enthusiasts may hesitate--but they'd be wise to add this one to their libraries, as it has all the insight and humour of the author's best work. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
While Doyle is a well-regarded screenwriter (The Snapper; The Commitments) and novelist (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha), here he seems to have done little more than hold the microphone, as this is actually his parents' book. Such nonintervention might be wonderful, were his folks entertaining raconteurs or at least people with rich experiences to relate-but alas, Ita and Rory are neither. While the publisher bills their memories as an "oral history" of the "quintessential twentieth-century Irish experience," the account is little more than a lackluster story of a mundane couple whose families were neither rich nor poor. Both attended school, dated and married, bought a house, raised a family, retired and then moved on to coping with old age. They rarely concerned themselves with anyone outside their village and extended family, only discovering the rest of the world when Rory retired and they traveled. Such insularity occasionally produces endearingly innocent remarks, such as newlywed Rory's exclamation when he learns Ita's pregnant: "I didn't say, `How did that happen?' but I had only a vague idea." Now and then, the account offers insight into lifestyle changes over a single generation, as when Ita reflects on her 1940s girlhood and realizes there "was no such thing as teenagers, so it was up to yourself how you got on between the ages of thirteen and twenty." As such gems are buried under many pages of smalltown gossip, Doyle's fans may wish the talented writer had chosen a different format for celebrating his parents' story. Photos.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you lose your job,it's the boat to England...,
By
This review is from: Rory And Ita (Mass Market Paperback)
I've read all of Roddy Doyle's books,and no doubt about it,this one is totally different.This is not a book about Roddy,as a matter of fact it is not really a book by Roddy at all. This is a book by Rory and Ita Doyle and about their lives and the lives of their parents,grandparents,families and friends.Not only it is written through their eyes and by them,Roddy is hardly even mentioned .His only involvement would seem to have been the catalyst between his parents and the publishers to make the book happen. Having said that,I found it a very well written and interesting read.It beautifully desceibes the lives,hopes,trials,tribulations,joys,sadness,struggles,family relations,friends,working,religious and all the other things involved in living in Ireland;during most of the 20th.Century. In many ways it was not all that different where I grew up in Nova Scotia,where many were of Irish and Scottish descent. In both places,as well as the rest of Europe and America,things were tough,jobs were hard to find,money was tight,but people survived,and in many ways were just as happy as today. My parents were born about 20 years earlier than Rory and Ita, and went through much the same things that they did working,creating a home and raising a family.I suppose that the biggest difference was that WW1 and WW2 affected things much differently here and The War of Independence certainly had profound effects there.But, inspite of those events ,life went on. Therefore;as a book that describes the way life went on throughout the 20th Century for a middle class family in Ireland,it is excellent.Wouldn't every family love to have one?It seems to me it would be a much more treasured heirloom than Great Grandmothers drop-leaf table.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
2 and a half, really,
By C. Murphy - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: RORY AND ITA (Hardcover)
Sorry to say this makes two disappointing ones in a row for the otherwise terrific Roddy Doyle.Here he essentially transcribes and edits his parents' memoirs. I couldn't help thinking what a great present this book is for his family. By the same token, this oral history doesn't contain a story that will knock the reader out. This criticism comes in spite of the facts that I can't help liking his parents and it was presented coherently. Predictably, the author's family background pales significantly to his characters'. That I should have counted on.Alternately, Kevin Kearns' often hilarious oral history series on pre-WWII inner-Dublin is definitely worthwhile.
2.0 out of 5 stars
They are just not that interesting,
By J. Carroll "Jack" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: RORY AND ITA (Hardcover)
Rory and Ita strike me as nice people who have worked hard; I just wish I could say they led lives that I found interesting. I admire Doyle for honoring his parents this way, but to put it bluntly, this was boring. Growing up, finding work, finding each other, a story that's been told a million times and most of the time in more interesting ways than can be found in this book. After 338 pages, Rory and Ita still remain ciphers, there's no real emotional depth on display; it's just the story of two people who led ordinary lives. That concept can often lead to a wondrous work of art, just not this time.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you lose your job,it's the boat to England...,
By J. Guild - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Rory And Ita (Mass Market Paperback)
I've read all of Roddy Doyle's books,and no doubt about it,this one is totally different.This is not a book about Roddy,as a matter of fact it is not really a book by Roddy at all. This is a book by Rory and Ita Doyle and about their lives and the lives of their parents,grandparents,families and friends.Not only it is written through their eyes and by them,Roddy is hardly even mentioned .His only involvement would seem to have been the catalyst between his parents and the publishers to make the book happen. Having said that,I found it a very well written and interesting read.It beautifully desceibes the lives,hopes,trials,tribulations,joys,sadness,struggles,family relations,friends,working,religious and all the other things involved in living in Ireland;during most of the 20th.Century. In many ways it was not all that different where I grew up in Nova Scotia,where many were of Irish and Scottish descent. In both places,as well as the rest of Europe and America,things were tough,jobs were hard to find,money was tight,but people survived,and in many ways were just as happy as today. My parents were born about 20 years earlier than Rory and Ita, and went through much the same things that they did working,creating a home and raising a family.I suppose that the biggest difference was that WW1 and WW2 affected things much differently here and The War of Independence certainly had profound effects there.But, inspite of those events ,life went on. Therefore;as a book that describes the way life went on throughout the 20th Century for a middle class family in Ireland,it is excellent.Wouldn't every family love to have one?It seems to me it would be a much more treasured heirloom than Great Grandmothers drop-leaf table. |
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