Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha

Synopsis: Paddy Clarke is ten years old. Paddy Clarke lights fires. Paddy Clarke's name is written in wet cement all over Barrytown, north Dublin. Paddy Clarke's heroes are Father Damien (and the lepers), Geronimo and George Best. Paddy Clarke has a brother called Francis, but Paddy calls him Sinbad and hates him because that's the rule. Paddy Clarke knows the exact moment to knock a dead scab from his knee. Paddy Clarke loves his Ma and Da, but it seems like they don't love each other, and Paddy's world is falling apart.

Review: A detailed look at life through the eyes of ten year old Paddy. It's written in Doyle's trademark style, short pithy sentences with no padding and the grimmest of grim humour. I was a bit shocked at some of Paddy's exploits (I mean 'Just William' was naughty but he's no match for Paddy and his friends) but then I asked Alan and basically he said that's what most ten year old boys are like so here we have it ... boys behaving badly, punching, kicking, spitting, bullying and thieving their way through life. One minute they are sharing jokes and being conspiratorial and the next they are slugging it out in the playground and ignoring one another. Friends become victims become friends. Paddy is trying to work out the world really and find his place in it, but he's thrown off course when he detects problems between his Mum and Dad which start off as a mere hum of discontent (mild disagreements, short sentences, silences, slammed doors etc) but, bewilderingly for Paddy, soon escalate into violence (and it's affecting to read about Paddy at bedtime straining to hear the sounds or silences of discord.) The narrative can be confusing to follow because it jumps and wriggles around a bit (just like a fidgety ten year old) and the sentences are short and stacatto, but Doyle's writing is always engaging and fascinating.

I spent most of the book feeling sorry for his little brother Francis (nicknamed Sinbad) who has to undergo some pretty horrible treatment, in the manner of nearly all younger siblings, at the hands of Paddy and his friends. Poor Francis doesn't rage and lash out in the way Paddy does when threatened or confused he just gets quieter and more withdrawn. This is a coming of age book, Paddy needs (rather than wants) to grow up, face up to what's happening at home and learn to deal with it maturely.

Reading it was a bit like watching a kitchen sink drama on TV, you feel as if you've been put through the mill a bit emotionally and there are few laughs but once you're in the grip of it you're compelled to see it through. I can't help thinking though that readers made of frogs and snails and puppy dog tails would prefer it over those made of sugar and spice and all things nice :-)