Product Description

Eight funny and poignant stories of immigrant experience in contemporary Ireland

The eight tales in Roddy Doyle’s first-ever collection of stories have one thing in common: someone born in Ireland meets someone who has come to live there. In “Guess Who’s Coming for the Dinner,” 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 man. “New Boy” describes the first day of school for a nine-year-old boy from Africa; while in “The Pram,” a terrifying ghost story, a Polish nanny grows impatient with her charge’s older sisters and decides—in a new phrase she has learned—to “scare them shitless.” In “57% Irish,” a man decides to devise a test of Irishness by measuring reactions to three things: Riverdance, the song “Danny Boy,” and Robbie Keane’s goal against Germany in the 2002 World Cup. And in the wonderful title story, Jimmy Rabbitte, the man who formed The Commitments, decides that it’s time to find a new band—a multicultural outfit that specializes not in soul music but in the folk songs of Woody Guthrie.

This is classic Roddy Doyle, full of his unmistakable wit and his acute ear for dialogue. With empathy and insight, The Deportees and Other Stories takes a new slant on the immigrant experience, something of increasing relevance in today’s Ireland.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #263511 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Doyle's dynamic first collection of short stories offers light and heartfelt perspectives on the effects of immigration on Irish culture. Originally serialized for a Dublin newspaper, all eight stories draw from the conceit of someone born in Ireland [who] meets someone who has come to live there. The opener, Guess Who's Coming for the Dinner, covers familiar ground—a self-proclaimed modern father is taken aback when his daughter invites a black fella to dinner—but Doyle's wry sense of humor saves the narrative from triteness. Fans of Doyle's previous work will revel in the title story, a follow-up to The Commitments that finds Jimmy Rabbitte masterminding a multicultural revival of Woody Guthrie music. The later stories find Doyle experimenting with different styles and voices: New Boy charts an unlikely friendship between a nine-year-old African immigrant and two small, angry Irish boys, while Black Hoodie finds a timid, indifferent teenager discovering his passion for civil rights and a Nigerian girl. There are some abrupt endings that veer toward the convenient, though this may be an unavoidable consequence of their serial origins. Doyle's immense talent as a writer is neatly showcased throughout, and his sharp wit adds a richness to every tale. (Jan.)
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From Bookmarks Magazine
Roddy Doyle, celebrated chronicler of the Irish working class and winner of the 1993 Man Booker Prize (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha), turns his attention to the immigrant experience in his first collection of short stories. The stories collected here first appeared in 800-word installments in the Dublin weekly newspaper Metro Eireann, which was founded in 2000 by two Nigerian journalists. Critics agreed that The Deportees is vintage Doyle, demonstrating his sharp wit, lively sense of humor, richly drawn characters, and ear for dialogue. They cited some problems related to the space limitations of serial publications, which result in stories that "are generally instantly engaging but not always carefully constructed" (Christian Science Monitor), but these problems were easy to ignore given Doyle’s extraordinary storytelling abilities. As in any collection, critics disagreed about which stories succeed best. By turns poignant and chilling, heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny, Doyle’s stories are as affecting as his novels.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

About the Author
Roddy Doyle has written eight novels, including The Commitments, The Van, The Woman Who Walked into Doors, A Star Called Henry, and, most recently, Paula Spencer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 1993 for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. He has also written four screenplays as well as several stage plays and books for children and young adults, most recently Wilderness.

Customer Reviews

"There are no good or bad people,only interesting or dull." Wilde
The thing I like about Roddy Doyle's books is that they are all so different fron one another. The first one I read was "A Star Called Henry" and since then I have read all his others,and look for each new one he writes.
As with many writers,a reader will like some better than others. I am not a big reader of short stories ,because they usually leave me wanting more. This is the case of each of the 8 stories in this collection. It seems that just as the story gets interesting;it ends.
Otherwise,as one can expect from Doyle ;the writing and writing style always engrosses one,and once again we get the same in this collection.
The copy I have is the hard cover edition with the picture of the members of the new band "The Deportees". I am really impressed with this and I have commented in other reviews that I thought it would be a great addition to many books if pictures of the characters involved in the story could be included in the book or on the cover.This idea is even workable in the case of fictional characters as has so aptly been done in this case. It was great as we were introduced to each band member,to turn to the cover and find them there. The big question remains;did Doyle describe the characters to "fit " the photos or did they find people to "fit" Doyle's characters,or were they all real?? Anyway;congratulations !!

Ich am of Irlonde
Ant of the holy lande
Of Irlonde.
Gode sire,pray ich the,
For of saynte charite,
Come ant dance wyth me
In Irlonde.
"Ich Am of Irlonde" [14th century]

It's Déjà Vu All Over Again.
These short stories were written for publication in a relatively new Dublin paper that is aimed at a non-traditional readership - those persons who have recently emigrated from Africa and other non-Irish cultures. The eight stories involve interaction between the traditional Irish and recent arrivals to the Emerald Isle. The stories are presented in the dialogue form, liberally sprinkled with the profanity that Doyle does so well.

Most of the stories are interesting. The dialogue moves you quickly through the book. You meet unusual characters: the Polish nanny who frightens her young charges with horror stories, and the young man who developed a test to measure Irishness - the average Irishman scores 57%. But one must wonder about the wisdom of publishing a collection of short stories, all of which have the same limited scope. Moreover, some of the stories are knock-offs of tales that we all know. The first story, "Guess Who's Coming for the Dinner?" is almost identical to the old Sidney Poitier movie "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" The title story, "The Deportees," is a rework of Doyle's very successful movie, "The Commitments" - this time with people of color. It's déjà vu, all over again.

Utterly fabulous - I didn't want it to end!
I've always loved Roddy Doyle's writing and this is no exception. The book is fabulous. Very funny and wry. A total joy. I didn't want it to end!