London Irish: Amazon.co.uk: Zane Radcliffe: Books

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Product Description

Review

" Very fresh, very funny. I laughed until I stopped." -- Colin Bateman

Belfast Telegraph

‘A rattling good yarn with quirky characters, pithy humour and a bagful of bizarre twists...this is someone who can tell a story’

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A drop of the Black Stuff, 5 Sep 2002

By	Rachel Gould (Islington (via Galway!!)) - See all my reviews

London Irish is the blackest of comedies, blacker than the pint of Guinness that graces its cover and every bit as enjoyable! It's the story of Bic (his 'pen name'!) who runs a crepe stall in Greenwich as Britain prepares to celebrate the new millennium. Bic is out of sorts with London (the tourists, the lack of clean air) and Radcliffe perfectly captures that thing that a lot of us non-native Londoners feel - that there must be a better life outside the M25. I've lived in London for 4 years (originally from Galway) and can relate to Bic's desire to just pack a bag, go to an airport and take the first flight to 'Whoknowswhere'. But just as Bic decides to cut loose from the city and return to his homeland to start an ostrich farm, he meets Roisin and his world is turned upside down. From this point just try and put the book down. I couldn't. It's fast-paced and furious but always funny. And Bic's dog (Dunc, so named because Bic had rescued him from the Thames when someone had tried to drown the puppy!) is one of the finest comedy canine creations! Even though the levity is high, London Irish contains one of the most poignant expressions of a terrorist atrocity that you're likely to read. Slainte, Mr. Radcliffe!!

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Laughs a page, every page, 6 Sep 2002

By A Customer

I loved this book! This is laugh-out-loud-read-it-cover-to-cover-in-one-day territory.

If you're looking for a fast-paced, punchy plot then you can't go wrong with this book. The story is fairly straightforward, albeit with a few unforeseen twists, but the real pleasures from reading this book are the snapshots of people and places (almost 'scenes set' - I think this would make a fab film by the way) and the wry observations of life in London, well life in general, leading up to Millennium Eve.

Who should read this book? Anyone who wants a quick and easy comic lift; anyone living in London (especially those who've visited Greenwich market and battled their way through American tourists to get their tie-die Aladin trousers or wood-carved elephant); American tourists who will miss most of the humour but love the insight into the Irish diaspora (Hey man, ah'm Oirish y'know - like); possibly men and boys (although I'm female and enjoyed it - but, to be honest, it does have a fairly masculine tone); anyone who liked Colin Bateman's Divorcing Jack.

All in all a right good rollickin read!

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Black comedy - blacker than the pint of Guinness that graces its cover , 18 Mar 2007

By	book-worm.biz (UK) - See all my reviews

A rattling good yarn with quirky characters, pithy humour and a bagful of bizarre twists...this is someone who can tell a story'

London Irish is the blackest of comedies, blacker than the pint of Guinness that graces its cover and every bit as enjoyable! It's the story of Bic (his 'pen name'!) who runs a crepe stall in Greenwich as Britain prepares to celebrate the new millennium. But just as Bic decides to cut loose from the city and return to his homeland to start an ostrich farm, he meets Roisin and his world is turned upside down. From this point just try and put the book down. I couldn't. It's fast-paced and furious but always funny. And Bic's dog (Dunc, so named because Bic had rescued him from the Thames when someone had tried to drown the puppy!) is one of the finest comedy canine creations!

Slainte.

A word of warning, in the light of the 7/7 London Bombings: even though the levity is high, London Irish contains one of the most poignant expressions of a terrorist atrocity that you're likely to read.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll be surprised at the quality of writing!
I met Zane one summer before he moved to England. He was loafing about during the summer months pretending to do a bit of work for us in between University. Read more

Published on 9 Nov 2006 by galjulie

1.0 out of 5 stars How did this even get published?
I bought this book on the strength of the blurb at the back but a "glorious comic thriller" this isn't. Lame one-liners are supposed to be funny? Read more

Published on 10 May 2006 by TeamZissou

3.0 out of 5 stars London Irish, pages of fun
I think you have to ask yourself sometimes; what do you want from a book? If you want a book that you can pick up & put down with ease, have a few giggles out loud, be sucked in a... Read more

Published on 26 Mar 2006 by RedRabbit64

5.0 out of 5 stars Cracking first novel
Zane Radcliffe has produced in 'London Irish' a fast paced and funny debut novel. Bic is a Northern Irish man living in London who runs a crepe stall (Life's... Read more

Published on 20 Feb 2006 by Sam

2.0 out of 5 stars Irritating
Humour only works when it is not forced. This book seeks to rely on the "funny" main character to keep the story together, but after a few chapters, he stops being "funny" and... Read more

Published on 5 Jan 2005 by Nick

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Read
I've read both his books in the last week, and what can I say, but ... brilliant! This is a different take on a London peopled by many quirky characters and Radcliffe peppers his... Read more

Published on 15 Sep 2004 by alicialove5

3.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't wait to finish it
I started this book and found it fairly annoying - the forced humour a la Colin Bateman tends to grate. Read more

Published on 31 May 2004

3.0 out of 5 stars London British
This is one of those books that doesn't know what it is. A love story? A triller? The reason I say this is because the triller bit didn't start till the last third of the book... Read more

Published on 13 April 2004 by knoxer

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Craic
I read the book in two days after starting it many weeks ago. All of the way through the book I kept wondering where it was all leading and what the significance of the characters... Read more

Published on 3 Nov 2003 by Smithy

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb!
This is a very humorous novel with many thrilling twists. The descriptions of London are funny and insightful. I loved Bic and his opinions. Read more

Published on 4 Aug 2003 by Perri Haan

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	70% buy the item featured on this page: London Irish 4.0 out of 5 stars (17)
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London Irish (Paperback)

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