Reviews
f‘SllUlil f$l()lt|l .‘S RODDY DOYLE The Deportees (Jonathan (lapel O...
In light of the lucrative offers put his way over the years to pen a full sequel to his 1987 classic The Commitments, it’s so very Roddy Doyle that he instead gave one of the book‘s major characters - manager Jimmy Rabbite — a rebirth in the pages of a newspaper run for and by immigrants to Ireland: Metro Eireann. All the shorts in The Deportees were, in fact, written for that publication, with the purpose of putting fresh perspective on Rabbite's
famous quote: ‘the Irish are the niggers of Europe’.
Twenty years on, spurred by the Celtic Tiger economic boom, the Irish are anything but the continent’s poor and the nation has fast become a haven for immigrants itself. In ‘Guess Who‘s Coming to Dinner’, a father of four daughters suddenly has to face up to his prejudices when a ‘black fella‘ is invited home for tea, and in ‘New Boy’, a young Nigerian experiences a bewildering first day at school. Best of all is the title story itself, in which Rabbite forms a new band for which ‘white Irish need not apply’.
Doyle evidently enjoyed every moment of the writing with the freedom, the sense of purpose, the opportunity to use his intuitive understanding of the Irish sense of humour to hack at a pertinent, divisive matter, and tear the stigma surrounding it to pieces in the process. When an author of Roddy Doyle’s calibre is having fun, you’ve got little option but to join him.
(Malcolm Jack)
StXZlAl [)liAMA NATHAN ENGLANDER The Ministry
of Special Cases (l aherl 0..
Nathan l nglander, the New York horn author 0t / or the fie/ref of U/rhearah/e Urges. makes a conlrdent leap from critically acclarrned short story writer to novelist wrth the audacious fhe Alrnrstn of Spatial Cases. Set llt tEiitis Buenos Aries during Argentina's 'drrt\ war'. the novel's protagonist rs world weary Kaddrsh. who earns cash altering the names on Jewrsh gravestones to conceal traces of dubious ancestry. Hrs marriage
to insurance clerk l lilran rs held together t‘\ the:r devotion to therr son, but domestic monotony ls about to be shattered h\ a rnrlrtar\ coup. which sets the tarnlly on the road to the Orwellian bureaucratic nightmare ot the title.
Englander 's dark. often ttlacklx turtrty novel is rntrrcatelx plotted and
compelling. the spare. unllashy prose punctuated hy moments of lyrical yrhrancy and an occasionally startling turn of phrase. But the author 's detached approach to his characters and the harrowmg suliiect matter means that the story is sornetrrnes drttrcult to engage wrth emotionally
(Allan Hadclrtter
awhile Nth”! l [A ALAN BENNETT The Uncommon Reader
ri’rotrlel 0...
Alan Bennett's latest ‘work is a charmingly suhx ersrx e novella lll which the Queen
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ller artvrsors lsorne ol whom are easily recognrsahlel are appalled anrl they hanrsh her ginger haired arnanuensrs. Norman. a former palace skrvw. to the University ol l ast Arrglra's School of (Ireatrve Writing But the subversive power of reading and writing has a shock or two Ill store tor the phrlrstrnes. lhrs is Vintage Bennett: light cornedy. steel tipped harhs and old school regard. 'lhe hest satire comes out ol atte<:tron.' says Bennett. ‘| otten think I'm the last rnonarchrst.'
(Hannah Adcock)
Comics
WAH
DAVID KENDALL (EDI
The Mammoth Book of Best War Comics lHohrnson) 0..
lhrs really rs a weighty torne wrth over f>()() pages ol war cornrcs culled from acrr ss the World and through the
Books
Lies; from itiofx .‘tttttil KW; Nakafavni sets the "remit ratt‘ his personal are tunt ot the pornhrng a? llirr rsnrrna in / Siam if. a portir‘ant tale that spells. out the human cost ot the atornrc ttornti and the implications that resonate throughout the rest ot their lives
lhere rs an antr war tone throughout. and even stones trorn ltitif) which are wrapped rn patrrotrsrn can strll otten he fundamentally lileak Respected names like Will i rsrrer, l’at Mills and liayrnond Briggs add their own visions and experiences, touching on, among other conflicts. Vietnam and the l alklands War lrorn out and out comedy through esoteric art to r'tls underground cornrx and classic (,‘o/nhat war stories. this rnarnrnoth hook's catch all nature rneans rt can he hit and rnrss, hut rt's still an adrnrrahle and enlightening collection. ll lenry Northrnore)
StJl’l Hill lit)
BRAD MELTZER 8. ED BENES JLA: Tornado's Path (DC/l rlan) O...
Novelist Brad Melt/er proved he has a knack lor cornrcs wrth the gripping Ident/ty Cris/s, perfecting a style of weavrng human teelrngs Into tales of world shattering superpowers. lhrs rs no mean teat grven that its often near rrnpr ssrhle to anchor the likes of Superman or the Green lantern and their cosmic abilities to real emotions. Now he's back, re- launching the Justice League of America, the world's premiere supertearn.
As Damon Lindhoff so rightly mentions in his introduction, this rs an action-packed reworking of Pinocchio. robot/Wind elemental Red Tornado tries to become a real man.
ALSO PUBLISHED
5 W Gail Porter Laid Bare Subtitled ‘My Story of Love. Fame and Survival'. this tells of the Edinburgh lassie's various battles with anorexia. bipolar disorder. post -natal depression and alopecia. Ebury. Sebastian Hon-slay Dandy in the Underwortd A frank history from this punk guitarist. male escort. heroin addict and artist who has gone to the brink. looked in and just about come back from it. Sceptre. Martha Long Ma. He Sold Me For a Few Cigarettes A misery memoir from the illegitimate daughter ol a teenage mother in the Dublin slums of the 1950s. Could this be the new Angela 's Ashes? Mainstream. Tony Blackburn Poptastic! My Life in Radio Coinciding with the 40th anniversary celebrations of Radio 1, this book recalls the ups and downs of the man who came crashing back into our lives as an I'm a Celebrity. . . Get Me Out of Here winner. Cassell. Mike Jackson Soldier: The Autobiography Having retired last year after nearly five decades‘ service in the British Army, the general will have plenty to say about the UK's role in Kosovo. Afghanistan and Iraq. Bantam.
Gripping from start to finish, rt's Melt/er's fully» rounded characters and ohvrous love of these superheroes (and vrllarns) that lifts this to new heights. Add to this Ed Benes' astoundineg sharp, crisp and clean art which makes Tornado '5; Path like a cornrc lll HD. Much like Melt/er. Benes doesn't just do exemplary action sequences but conveys true emotion Hvoughout
(Henry Northmore)
23 AL)ng Set) 2007 THE LIST 13