WRITER

Roddy Doyle

1958 - Today

Roddy Doyle

Roderick Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been made into films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Roddy Doyle has received more than 737,175 page views. His biography is available in 31 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 29 in 2019). Roddy Doyle is the 6,316th most popular writer (down from 5,653rd in 2019), the 334th most popular biography from Ireland (down from 310th in 2019) and the 46th most popular Irish Writer.

Memorability Metrics

740k
Page Views (PV)
41.95
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
31
Languages Editions (L)
2.67
Effective Languages (L*)
4.29
Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Commitments

Fiction, Bands (Music), Soul musicians

Take a group of fame-starved, working-class Irish youths who call themselves The Commitments, give them a paradoxical passion for the music of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, and a mission -- to bring Soul to Dublin -- and you have the makings of one of the most engaging and believable novels about rock 'n' roll ever written, a book whose brashness and originality have won it mainstream acclaim and underground cachet. Roddy Doyle, a young Dubliner, writes about the band with a fan's enthusiasm, about his city with a native's cheerful knowingness. His book captures all the shadings of the rock experience: ambition, greed, and egotism - and the redeeming, exhilarating joy of making music. --back cover

1987

Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha

Fiction, Friendship, Friendship in fiction

In this national bestseller and winner of the Booker Prize, Roddy Doyle, author of the "Barrytown Trilogy," takes us to a new level of emotional richness with the story of ten-year-old Padraic Clarke. Witty and poignant--and adored by critics and readers alike--Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha charts the trumphs, indignities, and bewilderment of Paddy as he tries to make sense of his changing world.

1984

Van

Fiction, Friendship, Literature

The Van is a 1991 novel by Roddy Doyle and the third novel in [The Barrytown Trilogy](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL762601W/The_Barrytown_Trilogy).

1991

Snapper

Fiction, Unmarried mothers, Teenage pregnancy

The Commitments was praised as one of the freshest and funniest first novels in years and was made into the hit movie of the same name. In The Snapper, Roddy Doyle follows up with a new tale about the Rabbitte family. Sharon Rabbitte shares a bedroom with her sisters, works in a supermarket, and drinks vodka and Coke. She's young, single--and pregnant. Her sisters are delighted; her brothers don't really care; her mother stays quiet; and her father discovers the surprising pains and pleasures of pregnancy. Shape, fear, excitement, backache, and puking--The Snapper misses nothing as it follows the Rabbittes and the rest of Barrytown, watching and wondering whose "snapper" Sharon is carrying. But Sharon refuses to tell. Sharp, witty, and tender, The Snapper once again proves Roddy Doyle's extraordinary comic touch. --back cover

1990

Rory and Ita

Social life and customs, Families, Family

2002

Paula Spencer

Literature, Women household employees, Fiction

2006