The Deportees
by Roddy Doyle
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For the past few years Roddy Doyle has been writing stories for Metro Eireann, a magazine started by, and aimed at, immigrants to Ireland. Each of the stories took a new slant on the immigrant experience, something of increasing relevance and importance in today's Ireland. The stories range from 'Guess Who's Coming to the Dinner', where a father who prides himself on his open-mindedness when his daughters talk about sex, is forced to confront his feelings when one of them brings home a black show more fella, to a terrifying ghost story, 'The Pram', in which a Polish nanny grows impatient with her charge's older sisters and decides - in a phrase she has learnt - to 'scare them shitless'. Most of the stories are very funny - in '57% Irish' Ray Brady tries to devise a test of Irishness by measuring reactions to Robbie Keane's goal against Germany in the 2002 World Cup, Riverdance and 'Danny Boy' - others deeply moving. And best of all, in the title story itself,Jimmy Rabbitte, the man who formed The Commitments, decides it's time to find a new band, and this time no White Irish need apply. Multicultural to a fault, The Deportees specialise not in soul music this time, but the songs of Woody Guthrie. show lessTags
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"Ireland America was never Ireland America to me." It's Langston Hughes rewritten, but the message works an ocean away from Harlem. And that's what drew me into Roddy Doyle's stories. Racism isn't just an American issue, nor is immigration. I'm sure the world will like to think so, but Doyle has painted a clear picture that it's not. But it's those topics that hit home. That made these stories memorable.
The book collects nine stories - eight of which are set in Ireland, one in New York - and each deals with the xenophobiaracism of a nation.
The title story is a sequel of sorts to Doyle's novel, The Commitments, in which Jimmy Rabbitte decides it's high time for another band. No whites, he wants to write in the ad. In fact, that's part show more of the interview. Do you like the Corrs? Are you sure you're not white? With a rag tag of immigrants, Jimmy decides that the name of this new band is The Deportees and they will sing folk songs rather than soul.
"The Pram," a Polish nanny decides to seek revenge on her troublesome charges, two daughters who seemingly sabotage her romantic life, by telling them a ghastly story. Only the hauntings enter her waking life rather than their nightmares. The story echoes The Turning of the Screw with a slightly different ending.
In "Guess Who's Coming for the Dinner," a liberal-thinking father is faced with the fact that one of his daughters might be seeing a black man. How he acts surprises him and his family. Luckily, they're there to make sure he doesn't embarrass himself.
A group of teenagers shine some light on racism and stereotypes at local shops and how it hurts the stores financially in "Black Hoodie."
The Deportees and Other Stories is an eye opener at the state that we're in. Cross out Ireland and Irish and replace with America and American, and you'll see how this stories echoes across the sea. It makes the reader take a side step and evaluate how low we've come as a people by refuses others the seem benefits and dreams that we hold close to our hearts. show less
The book collects nine stories - eight of which are set in Ireland, one in New York - and each deals with the xenophobiaracism of a nation.
The title story is a sequel of sorts to Doyle's novel, The Commitments, in which Jimmy Rabbitte decides it's high time for another band. No whites, he wants to write in the ad. In fact, that's part show more of the interview. Do you like the Corrs? Are you sure you're not white? With a rag tag of immigrants, Jimmy decides that the name of this new band is The Deportees and they will sing folk songs rather than soul.
"The Pram," a Polish nanny decides to seek revenge on her troublesome charges, two daughters who seemingly sabotage her romantic life, by telling them a ghastly story. Only the hauntings enter her waking life rather than their nightmares. The story echoes The Turning of the Screw with a slightly different ending.
In "Guess Who's Coming for the Dinner," a liberal-thinking father is faced with the fact that one of his daughters might be seeing a black man. How he acts surprises him and his family. Luckily, they're there to make sure he doesn't embarrass himself.
A group of teenagers shine some light on racism and stereotypes at local shops and how it hurts the stores financially in "Black Hoodie."
The Deportees and Other Stories is an eye opener at the state that we're in. Cross out Ireland and Irish and replace with America and American, and you'll see how this stories echoes across the sea. It makes the reader take a side step and evaluate how low we've come as a people by refuses others the seem benefits and dreams that we hold close to our hearts. show less
Perfection in a short-story collection - especially one by a single author - is a very rare thing in my experience but this must come pretty close. These stories all have Doyle's characteristic mix of humour, pathos, a feel for language and characterisation, ease of reading and thought-provoking themes, and all this is combined with an effortless easy reading style. It's impressive that all these features survive the constraints that the short story form brings.
It's all the more impressive when you read in the foreword how these stories came to be written. All were produced for a new monthly paper Metro Eireann targeted at Dublin's growing multinational community in 2000. They weren't written as whole stories but in 800-word instalments show more and Doyle apologises that as a result:
The apology is hardly necessary - the flaws were invisible to me although the joins from one instalment to the next are made clear in the typesetting.
There's variety in the settings and characters, from an Irish reworking of "Guess who's coming to dinner", the teenagers trying to teach a lesson about stereotyping to security guards in "Black Hoodie" and the tale of Declan, the black Irish-Glaswegian-American looking for his culture and roots in New York and not finding what he expected. Fans of The Commitments will welcome a late return from Jimmy Rabitte as he puts together a band again in the title story.
There's more. But I wish there were even more. A book that ends far too quickly. show less
It's all the more impressive when you read in the foreword how these stories came to be written. All were produced for a new monthly paper Metro Eireann targeted at Dublin's growing multinational community in 2000. They weren't written as whole stories but in 800-word instalments show more and Doyle apologises that as a result:
"Characters disappear, because I forgot about them. Questions are asked and, sometimes, not quite answered."
The apology is hardly necessary - the flaws were invisible to me although the joins from one instalment to the next are made clear in the typesetting.
There's variety in the settings and characters, from an Irish reworking of "Guess who's coming to dinner", the teenagers trying to teach a lesson about stereotyping to security guards in "Black Hoodie" and the tale of Declan, the black Irish-Glaswegian-American looking for his culture and roots in New York and not finding what he expected. Fans of The Commitments will welcome a late return from Jimmy Rabitte as he puts together a band again in the title story.
There's more. But I wish there were even more. A book that ends far too quickly. show less
This was a fun read. [[Roddy Doyle]] describes in eight stories how immigrants go in Ireland. Sometimes it was so funny that I could laugh out loud. I liked the story where an Irishman founds a band made up only of immigrants. The experiences and the enthusiasm are great. Doyle can very much challenge the Irish themselves. He can describe an Irish father whose daughter brings a 'black man' home. The father steps from one fat cup to the next. On the one hand, he is not friendly with immigrants, on the other hand, he would like to stand in front of his daughter and her companion as a cosmopolitan man. Each of the eight stories is a pearl in itself.
This collection is absolutely delightful. In each, Doyle focuses on coflicts and relationships among recent immigrants and native Irish. He manages to get inside the heads and hearts of his characters, their anxieties and fears, their hopes and plans, and especially their difficulty in adjusting to Irish life and culture. At times touchingly sad, these stories provide even more smiles and a good many laughs out loud.
The title story brings back Jimmy Rabbitt of The Commitments, now married and the father of four whose names reflect his love of himself and Motown: Jimmy Two, Marvin, Mahalia, and Smoky. Jimmy decides to form a new band made up entirely of immigrants ("No Irish need apply"). Great story!
I also loved "Guess Who's Coming for show more the Dinner" (you can guess what that one is about, but it will surprise you) and the one about Deklan, a half-black Irish native who comes to study literature in New York (but can't decide if he should focus on Irish Literature or The Harlem Renaissance).
I read the book in print but also listened to it on tape. The reader is a wonder; he's Irish, which always enhances Irish audiobooks, but he also does a mean Zimbabwean accent, sings the lyrics to The Deportees' numbers, and even does a fair job of giving voice to two-year old Mahalia Rabbitt.
Highly recommended! show less
The title story brings back Jimmy Rabbitt of The Commitments, now married and the father of four whose names reflect his love of himself and Motown: Jimmy Two, Marvin, Mahalia, and Smoky. Jimmy decides to form a new band made up entirely of immigrants ("No Irish need apply"). Great story!
I also loved "Guess Who's Coming for show more the Dinner" (you can guess what that one is about, but it will surprise you) and the one about Deklan, a half-black Irish native who comes to study literature in New York (but can't decide if he should focus on Irish Literature or The Harlem Renaissance).
I read the book in print but also listened to it on tape. The reader is a wonder; he's Irish, which always enhances Irish audiobooks, but he also does a mean Zimbabwean accent, sings the lyrics to The Deportees' numbers, and even does a fair job of giving voice to two-year old Mahalia Rabbitt.
Highly recommended! show less
With the eight stories in The Deportees, Roddy Doyle examines what it means to be Irish in the wake of the recent wave of immigration that brought Nigerians, Romanians, Poles and others to Ireland when the economy was strong.
In the forward Doyle tells how the stories were originally published in the Dublin multicultural paper Metro Eireann and how he enjoys the “small terror” of the monthly deadline.
With the mishmash of cultures and nationalities, the stories are fresh and stimulating. In “I Understand” a man fleeing exploitation and death in Africa decides to fight back rather than be exploited by Irish drug traffickers. In “Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner” a genial self-satisfied family man who has never shaken a black show more hand deals with his daughter bringing home an African for dinner. In “The Deportees” – the liveliest and lightest story – Jimmy Rabbitte from The Commitments, now a family man in his thirties, decides to form a multicultural band and have them play Woody Guthrie songs.
In this collection Doyle embraces the new face of Ireland and tells some great stories in the process. show less
In the forward Doyle tells how the stories were originally published in the Dublin multicultural paper Metro Eireann and how he enjoys the “small terror” of the monthly deadline.
With the mishmash of cultures and nationalities, the stories are fresh and stimulating. In “I Understand” a man fleeing exploitation and death in Africa decides to fight back rather than be exploited by Irish drug traffickers. In “Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner” a genial self-satisfied family man who has never shaken a black show more hand deals with his daughter bringing home an African for dinner. In “The Deportees” – the liveliest and lightest story – Jimmy Rabbitte from The Commitments, now a family man in his thirties, decides to form a multicultural band and have them play Woody Guthrie songs.
In this collection Doyle embraces the new face of Ireland and tells some great stories in the process. show less
Irish is all different now, as is every other Euro "identity", inflected by new arrivals in much the same way America has always been. These stories look at what happens. They're feckin' grand. As Doyle and most of his characters would say.
Over the past decade or so, while the US economy has gone down the toilet, the dollar has crashed and burned, and xenophobia blossomed to the point of building fences on our borders, Ireland has become a prosperous nation built on new industries, the strength of the European Union, and the rising Euro. As a result, a centuries-long trend of Irish emigration has been reversed and now Ireland is a destination for the world's poor and dispossessed looking to make a new life. One of Ireland's premier contemporary writers Roddy Doyle takes on the challenges of the emerging multi-cultural society in his collection of short stories The Deportees and Other Stories (2008). The eight stories are built on the simple premise: "someone born in show more Ireland meets someone who has come to live there."
Doyle is one of my favorite authors and I've enjoyed many of his novels including The Barrytown Trilogy: The Commitments, The Snapper, and The Van, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, The Woman Who Walked into Doors, and my favorite Doyle novel A Star Called Henry (sadly,a sequel to Henry called Oh, Play that Thing, was uneven to put it politely). Doyle may be the most appropriate author to write about this new Ireland. He has an eye for detail and ear for language, and his stories are comfortable in the space between poignant and laugh-out-loud funny. Doyle originally published these stories as part of a regular column (in 800 word increments) fo Ireland's multicultural newspaper Metro Eireann.
My favorite stories include:
By the way, watching the video below will apparently play a part in determining how Irish you are:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_pO6LLEnHQ
New York: Viking Penguin, 2008. show less
Doyle is one of my favorite authors and I've enjoyed many of his novels including The Barrytown Trilogy: The Commitments, The Snapper, and The Van, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, The Woman Who Walked into Doors, and my favorite Doyle novel A Star Called Henry (sadly,a sequel to Henry called Oh, Play that Thing, was uneven to put it politely). Doyle may be the most appropriate author to write about this new Ireland. He has an eye for detail and ear for language, and his stories are comfortable in the space between poignant and laugh-out-loud funny. Doyle originally published these stories as part of a regular column (in 800 word increments) fo Ireland's multicultural newspaper Metro Eireann.
My favorite stories include:
- The title story in which Jimmy Rabbite of The Commitments decides to put together a new band, this time with no native Irish musicians, to play the songs of Woody Guthrie. I'd pay money to see that band.
- "New Boy" in which a boy named Joseph who escaped political violence in his native Africa has to stand up to playground violence on his first day at an Irish school. This story hits the nail on the head in showing a child's perspective on being the new kid in class.
- "Black Hoodie" in which an Irish boy in a hooded sweatshirt and his Nigerian maybe-girlfriend lead store security guards on while their friend in a wheelchair robs the store blind. Its all part of a business proposition to test stereotypes and collect consulting fees from the store managers. It's almost too clever for its own good.
By the way, watching the video below will apparently play a part in determining how Irish you are:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_pO6LLEnHQ
New York: Viking Penguin, 2008. show less
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Roddy Doyle is the author of five previous novels, including a Booker Prize nominee, The Van, and a Booker Prize winning international bestseller Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. He has also written several screenplays, most recently When Brendan Met Trudy. His first children's book, The Giggler Treatment, will be published in September by Scholastic. He show more lives in Dublin. (Publisher Provided) Roddy Doyle was born in Dublin on May 8, 1958, and grew up in Kilbarrack, Ireland. Doyle graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from University College Dublin. He spent several years as an English and geography teacher before becoming a full-time writer in 1993. His personal notes and work books reside at the National Library of Ireland. Doyle's first three novels, The Commitments (1987), The Snapper (1990) and The Van (1991) comprise The Barrytown Trilogy, a trilogy centred around the Rabbitte family. All three novels were made into successful films. In 1993, Doyle published Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, winner of the 1993 Man Booker Prize. Doyle is the author of ten novels for adults, seven books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. His work is set primarily in Ireland, especially working-class Dublin, and is notable for its heavy use of dialogue written in slang and Irish English dialect. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- The Deportees
- Original title
- The Deportees : And Other Stories
- Alternate titles
- The Deportees and other stories
- Original publication date
- 2007
- Important places
- Ireland; Dublin, Ireland
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- 481
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- 63,266
- Reviews
- 13
- Rating
- (3.84)
- Languages
- 5 — Danish, Dutch, English, German, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 29
- ASINs
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