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Review
`Doyle snaps entire lives into sharp focus in a handful of pages, which is short fiction doing what short fiction does best' --The Times
'This collection is brilliant: very funny but also tragic and tender'. --Saga, May 2011
`...a muted celebration of everday life and its consolations' --The Sunday Times
'This is a funny book about serious stuff ...Doyle's descriptions of fatherhood will leave a powerful impression on any reader.' --Daily Mail, Christena Appleyard
`The trademark deadpan style of Doyle's storytelling make this an entirely believable comedy.'
--The Guardian, Gerard Woodward,
`Fans of Doyle's work will doubtless find much to celebrate in Bullfighting.' --TLS
`These rather tender-hearted sketches of how men get old in contemporary Ireland may not be autobiographical but they're true; they come from life as lived.' --London Evening Standard
`Roddy Doyle's Bullfighting offers a series of rare and beautiful mid-life meditations.' --Sunday Express
`Doyle's writing seems so natural, so effortless that I sometimes think we overlook how good it is.' --Herald Scotland
`Devoured in a single reading, these stories are deeply moving and occasionally lump-in-throat inducing.'
--Metro, 4* review
'This collection is brilliant: very funny but also tragic and tender'. --Saga, May 2011
`...a muted celebration of everday life and its consolations' --The Sunday Times
'This is a funny book about serious stuff ...Doyle's descriptions of fatherhood will leave a powerful impression on any reader.' --Daily Mail, Christena Appleyard
`The trademark deadpan style of Doyle's storytelling make this an entirely believable comedy.'
--The Guardian, Gerard Woodward,
`Fans of Doyle's work will doubtless find much to celebrate in Bullfighting.' --TLS
`These rather tender-hearted sketches of how men get old in contemporary Ireland may not be autobiographical but they're true; they come from life as lived.' --London Evening Standard
`Roddy Doyle's Bullfighting offers a series of rare and beautiful mid-life meditations.' --Sunday Express
`Doyle's writing seems so natural, so effortless that I sometimes think we overlook how good it is.' --Herald Scotland
`Devoured in a single reading, these stories are deeply moving and occasionally lump-in-throat inducing.'
--Metro, 4* review
Book Description
Bullfighting is Roddy Doyle's eagerly anticipated second collection; a series of bittersweet tales on men and middle age, revealing a panorama of Ireland today.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The main characters in these short stories by the brilliant Roddy Doyle all have a similar trait to them - they are all middle aged or older and looking back on their lives. Their lives are what most peoples' are: marriage, a career, raising children, coping with losing them when they leave, retirement, the oncoming reality of death.
In "Sleep" an old man stares at his sleeping wife, reflecting on his life, their marriage their family, and an incident years ago when their young son almost died of asthma. In "The Plate" a young couple in the early stages of their relationship argue until the man realises the pain he feels is real and that he has kidney stones. "The Slave" is about a man past middle age, reflecting on his life, post-children (they've moved out) and how he'll cope going forward. And so on.
Which isn't to say they're bad for having an unified theme, in fact coupled with Doyle's deceptively easy prose, they're quite enjoyable to read. I found "The Photograph" about a group of friends carrying on while one of them slowly dies of cancer to be very moving and the denouement perfect. Same with "Teaching" where a man looks back on his career as a school teacher, reflecting on the repetitiveness of teaching, his own lonely life, and how he's helped some of the kids he teaches. It was definitely the most thoughtful piece of the collection and my favourite.
My summaries of these stories don't really do justice to the overall feel of them. To say that someone reflects on their life is to give brevity to something far more profound and reading these stories there is a profundity in them that is very real to the reader. In fact it's this level of focus that I think is where the title comes in - "Bullfighting" isn't about the bloodsport but about fighting against the bulls**t of everyday life, that each of the characters in the book is realising something inescapable about themselves, something they can't reframe in their minds.
Like all of Roddy Doyle's books I enjoyed it and found "Bullfighting" to be no less a pleasant experience. But despite that and the fact that there wasn't any one story I found to be a waste of time, the lightness of touch in the stories makes me think I won't remember them for very long and that even the ones I did like will be hard to recall in a year's time, maybe less. It's the lack of memorable aspects to the stories that makes me think this isn't one of his best books. "Bullfighting" is a decent read and good for whiling away a few hours, but strangely insubstantial for a book dealing with such weighty issues.
In "Sleep" an old man stares at his sleeping wife, reflecting on his life, their marriage their family, and an incident years ago when their young son almost died of asthma. In "The Plate" a young couple in the early stages of their relationship argue until the man realises the pain he feels is real and that he has kidney stones. "The Slave" is about a man past middle age, reflecting on his life, post-children (they've moved out) and how he'll cope going forward. And so on.
Which isn't to say they're bad for having an unified theme, in fact coupled with Doyle's deceptively easy prose, they're quite enjoyable to read. I found "The Photograph" about a group of friends carrying on while one of them slowly dies of cancer to be very moving and the denouement perfect. Same with "Teaching" where a man looks back on his career as a school teacher, reflecting on the repetitiveness of teaching, his own lonely life, and how he's helped some of the kids he teaches. It was definitely the most thoughtful piece of the collection and my favourite.
My summaries of these stories don't really do justice to the overall feel of them. To say that someone reflects on their life is to give brevity to something far more profound and reading these stories there is a profundity in them that is very real to the reader. In fact it's this level of focus that I think is where the title comes in - "Bullfighting" isn't about the bloodsport but about fighting against the bulls**t of everyday life, that each of the characters in the book is realising something inescapable about themselves, something they can't reframe in their minds.
Like all of Roddy Doyle's books I enjoyed it and found "Bullfighting" to be no less a pleasant experience. But despite that and the fact that there wasn't any one story I found to be a waste of time, the lightness of touch in the stories makes me think I won't remember them for very long and that even the ones I did like will be hard to recall in a year's time, maybe less. It's the lack of memorable aspects to the stories that makes me think this isn't one of his best books. "Bullfighting" is a decent read and good for whiling away a few hours, but strangely insubstantial for a book dealing with such weighty issues.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed this collection of stories. I fall into the category of middle aged men so it could be said that i am part of the target audience. We are out there and we need to be recognised as existing.This collection hits a lot of the troubles we are coming to terms with on the head.Redundancy, death of friends, baldness, impotence, marital infidelity and the dissolution of the family unit. I am sure there are a few others but i leave them for you to find yourselves.
The above list does not sound like a bundle of laughs but the collection also includes some of the great things about being a middle aged man. Love , family , friends and the joy of a good pint. There is a real feel for Dublin, particularily my beloved north side and for the people who live there. Roddy Doyle is primarily , for me , an author of speech and i can hear the voices as i read.
While reading this book i found myself saying that is so true, so often. So if you are a middle aged man or have one in your life this could be the book for you.
The above list does not sound like a bundle of laughs but the collection also includes some of the great things about being a middle aged man. Love , family , friends and the joy of a good pint. There is a real feel for Dublin, particularily my beloved north side and for the people who live there. Roddy Doyle is primarily , for me , an author of speech and i can hear the voices as i read.
While reading this book i found myself saying that is so true, so often. So if you are a middle aged man or have one in your life this could be the book for you.
Format:Hardcover
I am an avid female reader of short stories since reading Guests of the nation at school and have read thousands and thousands over the years. Roddy Doyle puts the spotlight on middle-aged men in Dublin, but I tested the book on a middle-aged Greek, who also loved the book. The focus on a largely ignored silent group is very welcome and many of these stories are really powerful. Some of these stories can knock your socks off. More, please.
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