A STAR CALLED HENRY

By Roddy Doyle.
Vol. 1 of The Last Roundup.
London: Vintage, 2000.
ISBN# 928448-0
344 pages

Comments by Bob Corbett
April 2005

See comments from an e-mail correspondant after my comments

Roddy Doyle tells the story of the 1916 Easter uprising and the eventual truce signed with England in 1921. He employs a brilliant strategy of creating a narrator, Henry Sharp, young Dublin tough who joins the revolution as an assassin but never internalizes the dreams and hopes of a free Ireland. He’s there in his anger and furor at the world, and particularly at the powers that be no matter who they are. The voice of Henry is often cynical, a cry out the most intense violence and distanced enough from the ideals of the revolution not to romanticize it.

However, the question arises: Is Henry too bitter, too hard-nosed? Were there really so few genuine patriots in leadership positions as he believes? Unfortunately I really don’t know. I have almost no knowledge of Irish history, though Doyle’s novel has tweaked my interest and I’m anxious to follow this novel with more reading. Perhaps I’ll switch to a non-fiction work next; perhaps more fiction but by a different author; then again, I so enjoyed Doyle’s style and story-telling ability, I may read volume 2 of this proposed trilogy.

I was impressed with Doyle’s writing. His no-punches-pulled harsh style and the fascinating characters he created lent an air of excitement, almost naughtiness to the book. However, the more famous historical characters, James Connelly, Mick Collins, Countess Mackievicz, Eamon DeValera and other are mere shells of characters. Doyle shines in the fictional characters like Henry, his wife, and the weaselly Ivan. I especially loved his observation on the genealogies of the poor: “The family trees of the poor don’t grow to any height.” Nice touch.

An odd feature of the novel is Doyle’s presentation of Irish women. He creates them as extraordinarily sex-obsessed, aggressive and constantly horney, not much like the often sexually repressed Catholic Irish-Americans I have known.

A Star Called Henry is a powerful and intriguing read. I recommend it to all.

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From an e-mail correspondent

I had written:

An odd feature of the novel is Doyle’s presentation of Irish women. He creates them as extraordinarily sex-obsessed, aggressive and constantly horney, not much like the often sexually repressed Catholic Irish-Americans I have known.

The correspondent writes:

I find this quote above to be seriously at odds with my history. I have found Irish women to be outgoing, definitely sexually open and available and far from oppressed. Perhaps I am fortunate to have been a member of a more open group.

I certainly agree, A Star Called Henry is one of the best books written.

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