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De Dode Republiek (2010)

by Roddy Doyle(Favorite Author)

3.62 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Nijgh en Van Ditmar

series

The Last Roundup

review 1: It would have been nearly impossible for Roddy Doyle to have maintained the frenetic pace (and possibly the high quality) of his history of Ireland in the 20th century as seen in the person of Henry Salt, The Last Roundup. That may be intentional and in the long run for the best, as this final chapter of Salt's saga joins him as he starts to feel the strain of his own tempestuous history and the speed with which we've been given the two previous books would have been noticeably out of place.At the end of the previous book, Oh, Play That Thing!, Salt has lost everything, including himself, across the great span of the United States. He crawls off to the desert to die, but is resurrected nearly by a stream of piss when actor Henry Fonda -- who's wandered off the film set to ... morerelieve himself -- finds Salt unconscious and close to death. This book picks up a short time later, and spends the first part showing us the strange relationship that's evolved between Salt and film director John Ford. That comes apart at the seams when the pair journey to Ireland to begin shooting The Quiet Man, a movie that was supposed to tell Salt's story but has intentionally strayed along the way. Salt returns to his homeland, tries to get lost but finds himself revisiting his past in ways he never expected.This was another solid entry into the tale, though not as remarkable as the first book (A Star Called Henry) nor as engaging as the second. Regrettably, history caught up with me in reading this, as it takes place starting in the 1950s and into the 1980s; it's my own fault I had a hard time understanding what was going on in the greater picture, being as I am largely ignorant of what's happened in Ireland the past 40 years, or the intricacies of the players therein. It didn't detract from the story, as a good deal of what happens is explained in context, but I often felt I'd be surer footed with a little more knowledge from outside the book.Doyle knew what he was doing in committing this saga to print, and he succeeded admirably in telling the story of a country's modern history in the form of one person. The ending, when it comes, arrives a bit abruptly but in the only way any reader would be likely to expect.The Last Roundup is in its entirety a slightly challenging read, but if one can achieve even a bit of sympathy for Henry Salt it's well worth the time spent.
review 2: A Star Called Henry is one of my favourite novels so I was really looking forward to this. It didn't disappoint although the first part did drag a little and was written in a rather peculiar style. Nevertheless, once the John Ford aspect of the novel was dealt with and Henry was back in Ireland it really started to deliver. Once again, I learned a lot and it was great to relive some of those dark days of my childhood (although I was in England watching it all on TV, not suffering in NI).There is an amazing love story within this that matches the passion and waste of those bad times.It would have made four stars if the first part hadn't thrown me so much. But then, as always, it's likely down to me being a bit on the thick side. less

Download links for: De dode republiek

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