Smile

Starred review from August 28, 2017
The latest novel from the Booker Prize–winning author of Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha explores the intricate psychology and history of a failed Irish writer who has recently separated from his famous wife. Having rented a cheap apartment in the unnamed Irish hometown he’d left behind, Victor Forde passes his bleary nights at Donnelly’s, a nondescript local pub where he soon runs into a forgotten, ornery schoolmate, Fitzpatrick. From there, the book’s structure takes some twists and turns as Fitzpatrick forces Victor through difficult recollections of his Christian Brothers school years, his poignant courtship of his celebrity chef wife, and the controversial pro-choice radio interviews that made him infamous. A revelation brings the relationship between Victor and Fitzpatrick to a violent conclusion, leading to an ambiguous twist ending sure to spark debate in readers. Doyle skillfully depicts the triumphs and tragedies of the everyday, how the aging process humbles and ennobles, and how a single hasty decision made in one’s youth can define and destroy a mind and thus a life.

The title of Roddy Doyle's audiobook is a misdirection. It refers to a moment when the main character, Victor Forde, is singled out as a young student by an abusive, tormenting teacher who states he can't resist Victor's smile. It's a dark moment that leads to a series of equally difficult passages told both in the present and through unreliable memories. Much of the audiobook takes place in a pub--that most relevant of Irish locales--where Victor encounters a former classmate from that dark past. Doyle weaves the story from this locale, narrating his own work. While it's not safe to assume an author is a natural narrator, Doyle's unaffected tone engages listeners from the start. S.P.C. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

May 15, 2018

When an author is as spectacular reading his work as his writing is on the page, the result is a literary treasure. Having created these characters, Doyle (Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha) knows exactly who endures, who lashes out, who threatens, who flirts, and who snaps. At his narrative center is Victor Forde, recently separated from his famous wife and relocated to a dingy apartment. For now, a few pints at the local pub with some of the regulars--including Fitzpatrick, a former schoolmate--is the only thing that gets him out. In between drink-loosened conversations, Victor reveals fragments of his past: his Christian Brothers School education, the abuse he suffered and survived, his once-promising writing career, and his happy marriage. As he attempts to reinvent his life as an untethered, middle-age single man, the stories he tells--to himself and others--ultimately reveal the most unexpected truths. For all the eyebrows raised to the scalp, the never-saw-that-coming supreme deception, Doyle's Smile will require utterly undivided attention. VERDICT Libraries will want to enable savvy patrons to discover this irresistible gem. ["This slim novel may not evoke many smiles, but the masterly language and honesty make the grim subject matter bearable": LJ 8/17 starred review of the Viking hc.]--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

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