The Rainbow Singer: A Novel [Hardcover]

Simon Kerr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2002

The narrator of this harrowing and hilarious novel is Wil Carson, a former Protestant ex-thug from Northern Ireland. Wils adolescent hatred of Catholics is inherited from his bigoted father, but his sardonic twist on life as a no-hoper from the Backstreets of East Belfast is all his own. When the opportunity of a lifetime arisesa chance to travel to America as part of a church-sponsored peace projectWil decides to swallow his prejudices and go along with the program. But his goodwill only goes so far, and a series of tragi-comic events lands him in a Wisconsin penitentiary. Wils stint behind bars leaves him plenty of time to review his past deeds, ponder the choices hes made, and reflect on a life of mixed blessings and curses. The Rainbow Singer offers a unique slant on Northern Irelands ethnic strife as well as an utterly original and distinct new voice in fiction.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The centuries-old resentments of Northern Ireland are viewed through teenage eyes in this intriguing, though ultimately limited, first novel by Belfast-born Kerr. Wil Carson is a self-described "no-hoper" who, by age 14, has joined a Protestant gang terrorizing Catholics in his native East Belfast. Circumstances give Wil a new chance in the form of Project Ulster, a month-long trip to Wisconsin with 10 Catholics and nine other Protestants to help them learn how to achieve reconciliation. He travels to Milwaukee, where he's placed in the care of a Presbyterian minister and his family. Wil is more interested in girls than in the project's larger aims and enjoys thrilling his American host brother, Derry, with tales of his Belfast mayhem. When Wil is rejected by Teresa, a Catholic, his learned behavior violence quickly kicks in, and he sets about sabotaging the project in ever escalating ways. Wil renders his take in a rich Northern Irish accent ("I got a right slap around the gob") that gives his voice character, though he lacks the level of insight of Holden Caulfield and other coming-of-age heroes. That Wil narrates this tale from prison, serving a life sentence for murder, is meant to serve as foreshadowing but it lessens the suspense, since we know from the outset that Wil won't transcend his violent conditioning. For all its attempts to get inside Wil's mind, the narrative doesn't really explain why a 14-year-old boy would resort to a killing spree. Then again, what can? National print advertising; online marketing and publicity.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Kerr's engaging debut novel paints a gritty and realistic portrait of a misguided and mistaken youth. Fourteen-year-old Wil Carson is a member of the Ulster Freedom Fighters, a Protestant terrorist organization in Northern Ireland. He is given the opportunity to spend a month in the United States on a church-sponsored peace program and reluctantly agrees, if only to indulge his love of American pop culture. His interests are typical: girls and heavy metal music but certainly not peace. A series of conflicts between the Catholic and Protestant program participants leads Wil to betrayal and murder. The story is told from the perspective of an older Wil in a Wisconsin penitentiary, who often spouts psychological theory along with amusing references to popular television characters to help explain his life. This book has biting dialog, vivid characters, and an honest rendering of time and place. However, this tragic account leaves a bitter and unsatisfying taste since the narrator never fully accepts responsibility for his actions and continues to blame society and his upbringing. Recommended for public libraries where Irish fiction is popular. Karen T. Bilton, Somerset Cty. Lib., Bridgewater, NJ
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 277 pages
• Publisher: Theia; 1 edition (June 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786867981
• ISBN-13: 978-0786867981
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,327,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is not a YA novel!, September 7, 2002

By 

MostlyFiction - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rainbow Singer: A Novel (Hardcover)

...just because a narrator is 14-years-old, it does not automatically make it a young adult novel. Fiction can be written from any perspective, any age. Moreover, the narrator of the The Rainbow Singer is NOT 14-years-old. He is retelling the events that happened when he was 14 from his prison cell fifteen years later. And yes, that does make it a bit of page-turner because you want to know what he did to end up in prison during his trip to America.

This novel is so pertinent to the anniversary of September 11 - because it really explores what makes hatred, especially hatred that lasts for centuries. So while the target audience is not Young Adults, it certainly wouldn't hurt them to read the novel.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A confusing target audience..., July 15, 2002

By 

A O Cazola (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rainbow Singer: A Novel (Hardcover)

Wil Carson is a troubled young man. There is no doubt in The Rainbow Singer that the Troubles in Northern Ireland have turned a regular teenager into a very confused and angry person. What there is confusion about, however, is the target audience for this book.

Essentially told in the voice of a 14 year old, heavy metal loving child of the 80s, The Rainbow Singer is one man's reflection on what his life was like as a youth. From his present-day jail cell in Wisconsin, Wil Carson (our main character and narrator), tells the story of a one month long church-sponsored multi-faith trip from Ulster to America that he took part in when he was 14. Designed to bring Irish Catholic and Protestant youth together, the trip puts Wil in the strange and confusing world of Milwaukee.

The story relates the tension between Catholic and Protestant students, romantic awakening and a brush with homosexuality. In short, The Rainbow Singer is a coming of age memoir set against the backdrop of the Irish Troubles. Where it succeeds is in the quirky and sometimes funny perspective of a headbanging teen. But where The Rainbow Singer fails is, sadly, more noticable.

The book is a very fast read because the voice of Wil is somewhat unsophisticated. This is good in that it is true to his character, but it makes the book read like a YA novel. This, again, would be fine if the book was aimed at a youth audence, but the large amount of violence, swearing and sex in the novel prove taht it is definitely an adult book. The Rainbow Singer took about 1.5 hours to read and was not developed enough to be truly satisfying, nor is it light enough to be fun and airy.

All in all, The Rainbow Singer could have been an interesting look at a teenager's perspective on Catholic/Protestant tensions in Ulster, but ended up being toothless and bland.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simon Kerr's debut novel is a must read!, July 9, 2002

By 

Ellen Zuckerman (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rainbow Singer: A Novel (Hardcover)

Simon Kerr's debut novel, The Rainbow Singer, is at once both poignantly funny and tragic. Wil Carson, the book's engaging narrator, is a product of his violence-torn environment, a fourteen year-old boy on the verge of manhood in Ulster, Northern Ireland, hanging around with the UFF--Ulster Freedom Fighters--his gang of Protestant-born mates, terrorizing the "Taig" (Catholic) families in the local neighborhoods.
He's fascinated with American movies and heavy metal music and jumps at the unexpected chance to spend a month in the "relative peace of the unwild midwest USA." The catch - the scot-free vacation in the States is courtesy of Project Ulster, a joint effort between the local Protestant and Catholic churches to show a group of unimpressed teenagers (ten Protestants and ten Catholics) that there is a path other than the familiar one of violence, prejudice and hate.

From the very beginning of the trip Wil is persecuted mercilessly by two Catholic boys, Seamus and Peter. He makes a halfhearted effort to resist the fighting, antagonistic urges inside, instead throwing himself headlong into the awkward pursuit of Teresa, one of the Catholic girls.

A series of run-ins with the Catholic boys on Project outings makes the situation increasingly more volatile. But it's not until he's encouraged by his fifteen year-old American host and friend, Derry "the Hulk," that Wil begins to lose control and the "tit-for-tat" feuding spirals into an inevitable act of horrifying violence.

The very heart of terrorism is laid open by the unique, engaging voice of Wil Carson. Simon Kerr has brought to life an intense, sharp-witted boy you'll want to hate, but can't help but love. The Rainbow Singer is a graphic but necessary read.