The Guts

A triumphant return to the characters of Booker Prize-winning writer Roddy Doyle's breakout first novel, The Commitments , now older, wiser, up against cancer and midlife. Jimmy Rabbitte is back. The man who invented the Commitments back in the 1980s is now 47, with a loving wife, 4 kids...and bowel cancer. He isn't dying, he thinks, but he might be. Jimmy still loves his music, and he still loves to hustle--his new thing is finding old bands and then finding the people who loved them enough to pay money online for their resurrected singles and albums. On his path through Dublin, between chemo and work he meets two of the Commitments--Outspan Foster, whose own illness is probably terminal, and Imelda Quirk, still as gorgeous as ever. He is reunited with his long-lost brother, Les, and learns to play the trumpet.... This warm, funny novel is about friendship and family, about facing death and opting for life. It climaxes in one of the great passages in Roddy Doyle's fiction: 4 middle-aged men at Ireland's hottest rock festival watching Jimmy's son's band, Moanin' at Midnight, pretending to be Bulgarian and playing a song called ''I'm Goin' to Hell'' that apparently hasn't been heard since 1932.... Why? You'll have to read The Guts to find out. Review The Commitments have returned to haunt our middle age. The financial challenges, health woes and marital quandaries of mid-life have rarely been this funny or this touching. Don Gillmor, author of Mount Pleasant A warm comedy about mortality, nostalgia, friendship and family life. The Guardian It's easy now to forget just what an impact...[ The Commitments ] and its two successors had on an Irish reading public.... Their existence had largely been ignored in 20th Century Irish literature and it was Doyle's great achievement that he not only gave them voice but made them his abiding subject. And he did this without a trace of condescension.... There's a lot that's entertaining about The Guts , not least its sardonic soundbites...and there's much wry commentary, too. John Boland, Irish Independent Characters so present you could pinch yourself black and blue and they'd still be standing right there in front of you. Sad, saucy, lyrical, hilarious, tragic, honest and wise. Put on your crash helmet and hold your heart in your fist, you're in for a ride. Doyle is a singular voice. And this book sings. Alive, alive-oh! Lisa Moore, author of February and Caught ''At last, Roddy Doyle takes us back home to the scene of his triumphant first novel. In The Guts , his singular gifts will split your sides and then break your heart, sometimes in the same paragraph. You cannot possibly ask a writer for more than this master delivers in this big-hearted, powerful, moving, and hilarious novel. This is brilliant storytelling from one of the world's finest writers.'' Terry Fallis, author of The Best Laid Plans and Up and Down Fierce, funny, profane and moving. Turns out for Jimmy Rabbitte, the Midnight Hour includes recession, cancer, kid worries--but always love and music. Judith Timson Everything old is new again in Roddy Doyle's latest novel, The Guts . There is a knack to breaking the reader's heart and making them laugh out loud with the same sentence. Roddy Doyle and a few other writers have it. This book made me bustyes, a GUTand darn near broke, and certainly stole,my heart. Beautiful stuff from a great writer and a cast of characters who are not what they used to be: they're even better. Wayne Johnston, author of *The Son of a Certain Woman * About the Author Roddy Doyleis the author of nine novels, two short story collections, and a nonfiction book. In 1993 he won the Booker Prize for his novel Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha . His 1991 novel, The Van , was a Booker Prize finalist. He lives in Dublin. "Jimmy Rabbitte of The Commitments returns in the triumphant new novel from the Booker Prize-winning author The distinct wit and lively, authentic dialogue that are the hallmarks of Roddy Doyle's fiction are on a full display as he reintroduces Jimmy Rabbitte in this follow-up to his beloved debut novel The Commitments. In the 1980s Jimmy Rabbitte formed the Commitments, a ragtag, blue-collar collective of Irish youths determined to bring the soul music stylings of James Brown and Percy Sledge to Dublin. Time proves a great equalizer for Jimmy as he's now approaching fifty with a loving wife, four kids, and a recent cancer diagnosis that leaves him feeling shattered and frightened. Jimmy still loves his music, and he still loves to hustle-his new thing is finding old bands and then finding the people who loved them enough to pay for their resurrected albums. As he battles his illness on his path through Dublin, Jimmy manages to reconnect with his own past, most notably Commitments guitarist Liam "Outspan" Foster and the still beautiful backup vocalist Imelda Quirk. Jimmy also learns the trumpet, reunites with his long-lost brother, and rediscovers the joys of fatherhood. An immensely funny and poignant novel, The Guts captures friendship, family, the power of music, the specter of death, and the zeal for life"-- Provided by publisher LONGLISTED 2015 – International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award A triumphant return to the characters of Booker Prize-winning writer Roddy Doyle's breakout first novel, The Commitments , now older, wiser, up against cancer and midlife. Jimmy Rabbitte is back. The man who invented the Commitments back in the 1980s is now 47, with a loving wife, 4 kids...and bowel cancer. He isn't dying, he thinks, but he might be. Jimmy still loves his music, and he still loves to hustle—his new thing is finding old bands and then finding the people who loved them enough to pay money online for their resurrected singles and albums. On his path through Dublin, between chemo and work he meets two of the Commitments—Outspan Foster, whose own illness is probably terminal, and Imelda Quirk, still as gorgeous as ever. He is reunited with his long-lost brother, Les, and learns to play the trumpet.... This warm, funny novel is about friendship and family, about facing death and opting for life. It climaxes in one of the great passages in Roddy Doyle's fiction: 4 middle-aged men at Ireland's hottest rock festival watching Jimmy's son's band, Moanin' at Midnight, pretending to be Bulgarian and playing a song called "I'm Goin' to Hell" that apparently hasn't been heard since 1932.... Why? You'll have to read The Guts to find out.