Customer Reviews

A Star Called Henry

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This extraordinarily rich tale of young Henry Smart, from his birth in 1901 to age 20, is made even richer by the lyric reading of Roddy Doyle.

Henry, son of a one-legged bouncer and hit-man, is the couple's third child and the first to live through infancy. He suffers the quintessential poverty-stricken Irish childhood described rather frequently in current fiction, but he is also a "star" in his mother's eyes.

Forsaken by his father before his double digit year, young Henry is on his own and on the streets. Yet he contains such a zest for life and is imbued with so strong a heart that he becomes one of the more endearing protagonists in recent years.

This one makes Angela's Ashes sound as fascinating as your t4.

"Brawling and lyrical...In everychapter Doyle mixes high, historical romance with low, earthy humor...Doyle vividly portrays the wild passions of an Irish Everyman...[and] the birth of the modern Irish nation." This review from Time magazine sums up what an incredible book this is.
It will keep you at the edge of your seat. Keeping you interested, and the amazingly describes in such fine detail. The war comes alive in your mind while you read, and Henry Smart shows how hard it is to be key role in the revolution which brought Ireland to wear it is today.
...Henry is the type of guy your mother warns you about, he is the stunning, witty, handsome boy next door, that all the girls are in love with, the motorcylce rebel outside your school, he speaks of his passion for sex, adventure, intimacy, women and killing.
If you love ecstacy, excitement, adventure, and intimacy in you books you will love :A Star Called Henry".

"Doyle vividly portrays the wild passions of an Irish everyman, and the birth of the modern Irish nation"- Time Magazine. "A Star Called Henry" captures the essence of Ireland as stated by Time Magazine. Although Henry Smart's character never existed the book really portrayed a hauntingly realistic and clever vision of an Irishman in the midst of revolution. The book had me enthralled and deeply passionate about the cause and the people up until the very end.
"'Do you love Ireland lads?' They got no answer. We didn't understand the question. Ireland was something in songs that drunken old men wept about as they held on to the railings at three in the morning and we homed in to rob them; that was all. I loved Victor and my memories. That was all i knew of love" Henry is a character that you will never forget, and the book brought Ireland to life.

War. War in Ireland was a predominant point in this book, which was intertwined with other story line. The Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle took place during the time of Ireland's "troubles". This book is about a boy named Henry Smart from the time of his birth until he was 20 years old. This book is a wonderful book that has everything that an entertaining and hooking book should have including romance, war and violence, family values, and the plot is very realistic and is very detailed and articulately spoken.

I would definitely recommend A Star Called Henry to anyone who's learning about Ireland's history. At the moment I am studying the history of Ireland in my Humanities core class during my winter tri-mester in 8th grade. This story helped me understand why the Irish Catholics were so angered and how almost every person was willing to give up their lives at the snap of their fingers for their independence.

Their living conditions were worst than the worst that you could most likely think of. Henry explains when his brother dies," His cough had been different. Just a cough. It was what you did when you breathed Dublin air. When you slept on the ground. When you didn't have shoes. You coughed when you ate bad food or none. When you'd never worn a coat. When everyone else around you coughed. When you'd no mother to fix you and no father to run for the doctor. And no doctor who'd come, anyway. The city killed victor." These people had nothing to give up, and they fought so easily because there was nothing to lose anyway.

This book really depicts the harshness of life in Dublin at the time. This book was very well written. It was descriptive, articulate, and although it was very harsh and violent it was very easy to understand from any point of view. This book is worth the time it takes to read it, I'd give it five stars out of five. This book would be good for people from the age of 13 to adult.

Love...war...family. This book is a combination of three threads intertwined to make a beautiful cloth of Henry's life and each thread represents a part of his life. His family he left behind that he is trying to rediscover. His life in the war agaist Britan for independance. Love, his love for Missis O'Shea amd trying to find her.
"Astonishing"-The New York Times Book Review. I completly agree because it is written with a view of the mind and body of Henry Smart rather than just being a action book. He is described in the most detail I've seen from head to toe. It also describes a multitude of other types of people in the Irish revolution. I give this book 5 stars because it over adequatly sketches a life of a revolutionary and his war.

The following is an evaluation of "A Star Called Henry". I am in eighth grade... and in our lit. class we read "A Star Called Henry". I found this book entertaining as well as educational. It was the first book that I have read for school that I have enjoyed so much that I didn't want to stop reading. "A Star Called Henry" helped me understand the situation in Ireland at the time. Reading this book made me actually feel like I was there, living in famine and sleeping on the street.
However, I would not recomend this book to someone who would be offended by sex and violence. It would make a great movie because Holywood wouldn't have to add anything to make it sell.
In conclusion, I would reccomend this book to anyone over 13 years of age.

I loved the way that Mr. Doyle built this novel, and all of its twists and turns. Henry is such a wonderful character. At every turn I was rooting for Henry to find his way. It was masterful.

I was very reluctant at first to read this book. I was thinking it was another hard luck Irish story, but it turned out to be much more.

Well with the read.

An incredible story of life in Ireland... one person and his struggles throught life, love, war, sickness, and independence.

I loved it.... Ireland, the description of the places, the sounds, the people... LIFE in a very rough time for the Irish... the fight for independence, one persons struggle to live and raise above.... it is simply marvelous!