Books like The Commitments by Roddy Doyle
Roddy Doyle’s 1987 novel *The Commitments* introduces the first installment of his Barrytown Trilogy, following a group of unemployed young people in Dublin’s Northside who unite to form a soul band. Set against the backdrop of the city’s working‑class neighborhoods, the story details the challenges of forming a cohesive musical group while confronting the realities of unemployment and ambition. The novel blends humor and pathos to portray the characters’ aspirations, musical passions, and the cultural scene of Irish soul music.
First publish date: 1987
Genre: General Fiction/General Fiction
Authors: Roddy Doyle
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Books similar to The Commitments (18 similar books)
The Bell Jar is the sole novel by Sylvia Plath, a psychologically intense and autobiographical look at a young woman’s decline into mental illness.
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A five‑year‑old boy and his mother are held in a small room, and the story unfolds through the boy’s perspective, highlighting the harrowing effects of captivity.
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Roddy Doyle’s lively trilogy follows the Rabbitte family of working‑class Dublin through music, love and family drama, from a soul‑band’s rise to a teenage pregnancy and a World Cup‑era celebration of male friendship.
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A 1991 Irish novel by Roddy Doyle, the third in the Barrytown Trilogy—celebrating friendship and humor amidst Dublin’s everyday life.
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Three children linked across time by a mysterious harmonica face family‑sacrifice and destiny‑bound quests in the forbidden forest, Germany, Pennsylvania, and California.
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Henry Smart rises from the slums of 1901 Dublin to become a 14‑year‑old Irish Citizen Army soldier, later a fearless rebel in the 1917 uprising, known for his wooden‑leg weapon and daring bike assassinations.
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A charismatic teacher at Edinburgh’s Marcia Blaine School in the years before World War II shapes the lives of six chosen girls, leaving an indelible mix of inspiration and manipulation that echoes into their adulthood.
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The Snapper (1990) is a novel by Irish writer Roddy Doyle and the second novel in The Barrytown Trilogy.
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Also contained in:
[Barrytown Trilogy](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL762601W)
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A week after Hank and Lilly break up, they start the Exes, a band composed of musicians who used to sleep together. To complete their wicked foursome, they recruit Shaz, a bisexual Pakistani bassist, and her former numero uno, Walt, a drummer and science geek. When the band gets a contract with an indie label, the Exes seem to be poised on the brink of success. But will they go over the edge instead? On tour, the band members discover it's easier to share a stage than a motel room with your old flame.
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In "Smile", Roddy Doyle follows Victor Forde, a Dublin resident, as an unexpected encounter at a pub forces him to confront memories of school, love, and trauma, unsettling his perception of reality.
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In suburban New Jersey, a group of teens navigates the early days of adulthood, forming a band and seeking purpose amid a stark, unglamorous landscape, where friendship teeters on the edge of betrayal.
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A once-prodigious cellist, now a university teacher, wrestles with an unexpected jury duty murder case while mentoring a new nine‑year‑old cello talent in Southern California.
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Some Other Similar Books
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