- Paperback: 165 pages
- Publisher: Vintage Contemporaries (Sep 1989)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0679721746
- ISBN-13: 978-0679721741
- Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 1.3 x 20.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,820,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Commitments
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Product Description
Book Description
'A charming, truthful and immensely funny story which leaves you gasping for more' Sunday Times
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
This funky, rude, unpretentious first novel traces the short, funny, and furious career of a group of working-class Irish kids who form a band, The Commitments. Their mission: to bring soul to Dublin!
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was probably the only person left in the world who had niether seen `the Commitments' or read a Roddy Doyle Book. Well shame on me, cause this is a great little debut. Small and perfectly formed it's a cracking read and must have made for a fun film. I'm always interested in authors first novels and this should be a blue print for any aspiring writers. Doyle keeps it simple and writes what he knows. He knows Dublin and clearly, he got Soul as well.
The story follows Jimmy Rabbitte as he attempts to put together a soul band from a loose collection of friends in the Barrytown area of Dublin. They don't set out to conquer the world or get stinking rich, they're just looking for a `good crack'. Along the way Rabitte recruits Joey `the Lips' Fagan an old hand who's played with all the Greats but has come back to Dublin to blow some Soul into the Brothers, `there wouldn't be so much trouble if the Brothers has some soul in them' he says. Boys are always brothers and girls are always sisters to Joey `the lips' Fagan. He is on a mission from God but similarities to the Blues Brothers end there. Jimmy then recuits the Commitmentettes who add a bit of Glamour and Deco Cuffe, an arrogant sod with a killer voice to do the singing. Any guesses where the dramatic tensions gonna come from?
All members assembled Rabitte focuses on the process of molding them into a passable Motown Outfit - complete with a memorable stage naming sequence - and Doyle focuses solely on the band. Suggesting that there wouldn't be so much trouble in Ireland if people chilled out and listened to some good old Soul music is about as political the book gets, there's a bit of love interest with the Commitmentettes but we never see any of them outside the context of the band meeting or rehersals or gigs, we never stray from this core group of characters and locations, the writing is low on descriptive exposition and heavy on the dialogue which is spoken in a thick Dublin accent which I never found tough to understand. It all contributes to a fun and breezy little treat, it's never spectacular but it will put a big smile on your face.
One last thing to mention if you do plan on reading it; brush up on you Motown. The rehersal sequences especially are full of lyrics and dums and da das for the rhythm and beat. If you know the song your singing along with them, if your don't your kinda stumped. 'Night Train' and 'What becomes of the broken hearted' are essential study. Class is now in session.
The story follows Jimmy Rabbitte as he attempts to put together a soul band from a loose collection of friends in the Barrytown area of Dublin. They don't set out to conquer the world or get stinking rich, they're just looking for a `good crack'. Along the way Rabitte recruits Joey `the Lips' Fagan an old hand who's played with all the Greats but has come back to Dublin to blow some Soul into the Brothers, `there wouldn't be so much trouble if the Brothers has some soul in them' he says. Boys are always brothers and girls are always sisters to Joey `the lips' Fagan. He is on a mission from God but similarities to the Blues Brothers end there. Jimmy then recuits the Commitmentettes who add a bit of Glamour and Deco Cuffe, an arrogant sod with a killer voice to do the singing. Any guesses where the dramatic tensions gonna come from?
All members assembled Rabitte focuses on the process of molding them into a passable Motown Outfit - complete with a memorable stage naming sequence - and Doyle focuses solely on the band. Suggesting that there wouldn't be so much trouble in Ireland if people chilled out and listened to some good old Soul music is about as political the book gets, there's a bit of love interest with the Commitmentettes but we never see any of them outside the context of the band meeting or rehersals or gigs, we never stray from this core group of characters and locations, the writing is low on descriptive exposition and heavy on the dialogue which is spoken in a thick Dublin accent which I never found tough to understand. It all contributes to a fun and breezy little treat, it's never spectacular but it will put a big smile on your face.
One last thing to mention if you do plan on reading it; brush up on you Motown. The rehersal sequences especially are full of lyrics and dums and da das for the rhythm and beat. If you know the song your singing along with them, if your don't your kinda stumped. 'Night Train' and 'What becomes of the broken hearted' are essential study. Class is now in session.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book that inspired the film is a great read, filled with hope and optimism that made the film such a hit, If like me you've seen the film you'll hear the voices jump out the book at you as you laugh through each chapter, It really is an enjoyable read from start to finish.
Format:Paperback
I was susprised at the lavish praise on the back cover - eg. "immensely funny story which leaves you gasping for more", "brilliantly funny", etc. One quote says it an Irish version of the Blues Brothers and that says it all - ie, it's all been done before, just this time there's an Irish twist. The band personalities stuff was all a bit of a cliche - maybe I'm jaded because I've been in lots of bands - and not very authentic.
Still, it's mildly amusing and very short - take out the song lyrics and it's only around 120 pages. The film's much better, not just because I saw that before reading the book, but really because, after all, this is a book about music, so no written description is an adequate substitute for the real thing.
Still, it's mildly amusing and very short - take out the song lyrics and it's only around 120 pages. The film's much better, not just because I saw that before reading the book, but really because, after all, this is a book about music, so no written description is an adequate substitute for the real thing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent book!
Really interesting. If your first language is not English, reading this book will help you to learn a lot of slang language. Is not hard to understand, you'll enjoy it.
Published on 1 Nov 2009 by M. Esteban
Roide, Sally, Roide
Roddy Doyle was born in Dublin in 1958 and saw his first novel, "The Commitments" published in 1987. Read more
Published on 14 April 2007 by Craobh Rua
"Soul is the music people understand...It sticks its neck out and says...
Set in north Dublin's most blighted area, this 1987 debut novel, the first of Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy, focuses on the Rabbittes, a struggling family of eight, trying to survive... Read more
Published on 6 July 2006 by Mary Whipple
It's good but it ain't challenging...
The commitments by Roddy Doyle is an amusing book you can read in a couple of hours. The band's ordeals are amusing as Doyle takes us through the problems and humour of trying to... Read more
Published on 5 May 2004 by "deranged-angel"
Absolutly brilliant!
This book engages its readers into the trials and tribulations of Jimmy Rabbitte who wants to start up a soul band. Read more
Published on 30 Nov 1999 by s.a.bellino@dur.ac.uk
Absolutly brilliant!
This book engages its readers into the trials and tribulations of Jimmy Rabbitte who wants to start up a soul band. Read more
Published on 30 Nov 1999 by s.a.bellino@dur.ac.uk
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