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Loading... A Star Called Henry (1999)by Roddy Doyle
1   NanaCC | Mar 26, 2013 |  A few days ago I was faced with a choice. I could leave this book on the shelf in Waterstone's or i could buy it, take it home and read it. I chose poorly! (  ) Eyejaybee | Nov 1, 2012 | Although this isn't the kind of book I usually read, I'm very glad I did. It's about a poor Irish kid who becomes a gunman for the IRA and tries to find his father after his disappearance. I think Doyle did an excellent job on portraying the life of this man. Although the story is very hard, very depressing and scary, he manages to put a spark, energy and humour to it that make it exceptional. It might have been easier to read if I'd known more about Irish history before I started reading the book, but it didn't stop me from enjoying it. Recommended, but only if you can stand the violence and rather explicit scenes. (  ) JustJoey4 | Jun 13, 2012 | This book tells the story of Henry Smart (jr) - a boy from the streets of Dublin who becomes invovled in the Irish revolution. He's born of a poor mother and a one-legged dad who works as a bouncer in a "hoor-house" and does the occasional murder for the mysterious owner of said cathouse. Henry lives on the street with his little brother Victor until his father and Victor die. With his dad's wooden leg with him at all times (he uses it as a weapon; keeps it in a holster) he then becomes a member of the militia who began the revolution and works his way to become a gofer killer for the heads of the IRA. He runs with his wife (his schoolteacher from before) until he figures out he will be killed next. He kills the owner of the cathouse (his dad's ex-employer) and makes way to America. Overall, this book was done very well. It took a few pages to grab my interest, but once it had it, I found it hard to put down. Especially the descriptions of Henry's military (?) service for the revolution. Roddy so seemlessly wove Henry's story into history that i felt I was reading a bio of a real person. When it would occur to me that Henry was not real, I was disappointed. This book should have been about 50 pages shorter, but overall a great addition to Roddy's body of work. (  ) jo1968 | Feb 16, 2012 | I approached this novel with a small amount of reticence. I knew from the reviews that the main character is a terrorist who is portrayed with attractive traits; I wasn't interested to sympathize with the cause. Roddy Doyle has written a complicated work that can be real about the terrific chaos of guerrilla warfare and about characters that I want to get to know better. I look forward to reading the next novel in The Last Roundup series. ( ) bsiemens | Jun 25, 2011 | no reviews | add a review
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Roddy Doyle's writing style pops like bullets ricocheting off the page. The book starts with Henry's birth into the slums of Dublin, Ireland in 1901. The descriptions of the poverty, filth and hunger which drive Henry to the streets at the tender age of five are brutal. Henry is fighting against social injustice and his story takes him to the fight for independence from Britain by Irish rebels. The scenes at the General Post Office, the center of the Easter uprising in 1916, are told with Henry fighting side by side with the leaders of the rebellion. Afterwards, he becomes Michael Collins' man training rebels and planting the seeds of revolution, until the end of the book where he becomes his own man.
On a personal note, as I read the scenes around the Easter uprising, I was thinking about my grandfather who was there doing his bit. In a copy of his application for the military service pension act, one of the questions was related to service during the week of April 23 to 27, 1916. His description of "particulars of any military operations or engagements or services during this period" were "Roof GPO from Monday to Wednesday. Basement til Thursday morning. Roof til Thursday evening. Instrument room til Friday evening. Moore Lane and Moore Street until Surrender on Saturday." Those few lines written by my Grandad became very real to me as I read those scenes in the book.
This is my favorite of the books I've read by Roddy Doyle. (