Roddy Doyle
Paperback | Pages: 320 pages Rating: 3.94 | 6317 Users | 222 Reviews
List Books As The Van (The Barrytown Trilogy #3)
| Original Title: | The Van |
| ISBN: | 0140260021 (ISBN13: 9780140260021) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | The Barrytown Trilogy #3 |
| Setting: | Barrytown(Ireland) |
| Literary Awards: | Booker Prize Nominee (1991) |
Representaion Conducive To Books The Van (The Barrytown Trilogy #3)
[Please excuse any expletives in this review. Roddy Doyle and his Barrytown characters' language is catchy...]Feckit!
I was going to give this 4 stars, reserving full marks for Doyle’s The Last Roundup trilogy (which I haven’t read but have heard is very ambitious and a departure for the author). But now that I think about it, that idea is pure shite. Why reserve a rating for a series I haven’t read yet? I’ve read The Van, just put it down an hour ago in fact, and I liked it a lot. It’s a smashing book, so full of vitality and heart and humour. What’s more: it’s a fitting conclusion to the Barrytown Trilogy. So: 5 stars it is.
Jimmy Rabbitte Sr., a minor character in The Commitments, and a major one in The Snapper, has been laid off and is trying to fill his days with babysitting his granddaughter Gina, going to the library, and watching people go by his North Dublin home.
Because he’s on the dole, he doesn’t get to drink as much at his local with his lads, and he misses that; not that he can exactly articulate why he’s so unhappy.
When his best friend Bimbo gets laid off as well, he’s now got company. The two play golf, hit the library, and just bum around. But then Bimbo – aided by his wife, Maggie – decides to buy a second-hand chip van (one that serves fish ‘n’ chips), so Jimmy joins him in fixing it up (it’s covered in grease, has no motor or wheels) and eventually working in it and sharing in the profits.
At first, business is grand; the appearance of their truck coincides with Ireland being in the World Cup, during which no one has time to cook at home. But then the season changes; Jimmy and Bimbo set up the van at the beach, during the day, and outside bars at night. It’s hard, grinding (and at times unsafe) work, and eventually it drives a wedge between the men’s friendship.
Sure, Jimmy now has disposable income – he can get ice cream for his grandchild, buy rounds for his pals in the bar and even dress up and hit Dublin with Bimbo for a night on the town to check out the more sophisticated younger women behind his wife Veronica’s back… but is it all worth it?
Jimmy, Sr. is one of the most vital characters in contemporary fiction. He’s got no airs and no filter. But he’s got his pride. He can be crude and sexist, little more than a grown up boy, really, but he’s hugely sympathetic, especially when he’s down and out. There are Jimmies everywhere in the world, and you’ve got to appreciate the way Doyle gets into his mind, without ever being judgmental or condescending.
What’s interesting – and I think it was brought up when the Barrytown Trilogy was chosen as Dublin’s One City, One Book selection – is that these books cover a specific time in European history.
You can sense the changing ethnic makeup of the city subtly: in Jimmy, Sr.’s reaction to people asking for curry chips. But my sense is the working class milieu the characters are in would be much different these days.
I think Doyle’s confronted Irish racism in his recent collection of stories, The Deportees.
As for The Van? I loved spending time with these characters. Jimmy and Bimbo’s night on the town sequence is one for the ages: so real and vivid it was at times hard to read. (I felt so protective of these characters I didn’t want anything bad to happen to them.)
And as is the case with the best books, I had no idea where it was going, but once it arrived, it felt completely satisfying.
So fair play to yeh, Mister Doyle. Five cussing, pint-soaked, stars for your unforgettable characters.
Details Containing Books The Van (The Barrytown Trilogy #3)
| Title | : | The Van (The Barrytown Trilogy #3) |
| Author | : | Roddy Doyle |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 320 pages |
| Published | : | March 1st 1997 by Penguin Books (first published 1991) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Cultural. Ireland. European Literature. Irish Literature. Humor. Contemporary. Novels |
Rating Containing Books The Van (The Barrytown Trilogy #3)
Ratings: 3.94 From 6317 Users | 222 ReviewsArticle Containing Books The Van (The Barrytown Trilogy #3)
This is the third in the Barrytown Trilogy, the first of which made Roddy Doyle into a household name as an author in the late 80s. The main character in the debut, Jimmy Jr, again takes a background role, as does the main focus of The Snapper, sister Sharon, this novel focusing primarily on Jimmy Sr and his relationships with family members and his friend Bimbo, as well as on his own sense of identity and self worth. Doyle tackles some heavy themes in the book, but does so through a backdrop ofRe-read...I've read most of Roddy's Doyle's books and this is one of his best (and funniest). He writes some of the best dialogue out there. The story of THE VAN is simple and hence great fun: best mates Jimmy & Bimbo are both laid off and come up with a scheme to buy and operate a derelict chippy van. That's all it takes for this hilarious (and sometimes painful) story to take off.
The third of the Barrytown trilogy as Jimmy Rabbitte Sr and his mate Bimbo, both unemployed take over the running of a decrepit fast food van.Although witty with sharp dialogue as in the other two books in the trilogy I was a tad disappointed it took quite a time for the van to be introduced.I think this book is slightly darker than the others and there seems less hope as Jimmy is resigned to the fate of the van during an environmental health inspection. How he and Jimmy dispose of the van is
Another one of my favorites by this author. Nothing too exciting, just a really good story. This stars the same family that is in 'The Commitments' and 'The Snapper'.
The Van by Roddy Doyle, which was short-listed for the Booker Prize in 1991, is a poignant, rude and very funny novel.Written in the local Irish vernacular, the dialogue is extremely salty, and may offend those who are intolerant of the frequent use of the f_ and c_ words.Jimmy Rabbitte Sr and his best mate Bimbo (it is eventually revealed that his real name is Brendan), both finding themselves unemployed, embark on a business venture together operating a mobile chipper van (Today's Chips
[Please excuse any expletives in this review. Roddy Doyle and his Barrytown characters' language is catchy...]Feckit!I was going to give this 4 stars, reserving full marks for Doyles The Last Roundup trilogy (which I havent read but have heard is very ambitious and a departure for the author). But now that I think about it, that idea is pure shite. Why reserve a rating for a series I havent read yet? Ive read The Van, just put it down an hour ago in fact, and I liked it a lot. Its a smashing
Another one of my favorites by this author. Nothing too exciting, just a really good story. This stars the same family that is in 'The Commitments' and 'The Snapper'.
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