Krishna
decided to treat the entire three book collection (Trilogy) as a
single item for review because I did not want to bombard you with
separate descriptions of three books by the same author on the same
subject.
You have to like the books that generally win the Booker Prizes to
appreciate Roddy Doyle. This trilogy is set in Southern Dublin part
of Ireland and mirrors the life of a typical average lower income
group family there. The first of the books, called `Commitment’
tracks the humorous efforts of a group of boys to form a band. It is
funny and has the delicious taste of the language and the ambience of
the place captured very well. The second book called the `Snapper’
focuses on the sister and talks about her getting pregnant due to
a `technical rape’ while being only semi conscious (alcohol being the
reason). In spite of the heavy subject, the story has an easy
narration and oscillates between the poignant and hilarious moments.
The Van is another lovely portrayal of the same family, this time the
dad and his friends getting together to start a business of vending
fast food from a van.
The stories are excellent and often uproariously funny, but it is a
kind of humour that does not appeal to all. The Commitment was made
into a movie (old) which is also very funny.
I would have no hesitation in giving a generous 8/10 for these books.
— Krishna