Star Called Henry [Paperback]

Roddy Doyle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1999

Born in the Dublin slums of 1901, his father a one-legged whorehouse bouncer and settler of scores, Henry Smart has to grow up fast. By the time he can walk he's out robbing and begging, often cold and always hungry, but a prince of the streets. By Easter Monday, 1916, he's fourteen years old and already six-foot-two, a soldier in the Irish Citizen Army. A year later he's ready to die for Ireland again, a rebel, a Fenian and a killer. With his father's wooden leg as his weapon, Henry becomes a Republican legend - one of Michael Collins' boys, a cop killer, an assassin on a stolen bike.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood." The quote is from Frank McCourt's memoir of growing up impoverished in Limerick, circa World War II. But the sentiment might just as easily have come from the fictional lips of Henry Smart, the hero of Roddy Doyle's remarkable novel of Dublin in the teens, A Star Called Henry. The son of a one-legged hit man, young Henry is the third child born but the first to live through infancy. He is also the second Henry--the first having died, and become a star in the mind of his mother.

She held me but she looked up at her twinkling boy. Poor me beside her, pale and red-eyed, held together by rashes and sores. A stomach crying to be filled, bare feet aching like an old, old man's. Me, a shocking substitute for the little Henry who'd been too good for this world, the Henry God had wanted for himself. Poor me.

Soon, his father has all but abandoned the growing family, and at 9 Henry is on his own, running wild in the streets, thieving to stay alive. Depressing as all this sounds, Doyle has invested his narrator with such an appetite for life, and rendered him so resolutely unsorry for himself, that it seems almost insulting to pity him.

By the time he is 14, Henry has become a soldier in the new Irish Republican Army and in one long and harrowing chapter, we view the events of the Easter Rising of 1916 from his position in the thick of it. It's not a pretty sight by any means, as the populace is divided in its support and various factions within the Republican Army threaten to splinter and annihilate one another before the British even get there. When the shooting starts, Henry aims not at the British but at the store windows across the street. "I shot and killed all that I had been denied, all the commerce and snobbery that had been mocking me and other hundreds of thousands behind glass and locks, all the injustice, unfairness and shoes--while the lads took chunks out of the military." Though the uprising is eventually crushed and the leaders executed, Henry escapes to live--and fight--another day.

In previous books such as The Barrytown Trilogy, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, and The Woman Who Walked into Doors, Doyle has established himself as one of the premiere chroniclers of modern Irish life. With A Star Called Henry, he works his singular magic on the past. What's more, this is only volume one of the Last Roundup, so it looks like we haven't seen the last of Henry Smart. And that's a very good thing, indeed. --Alix Wilber --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Hardy Irishman Doyle delivers his prose in a mellifluous outpouring, gentle in its use of language but harsh in its cutting observations. The beauty of Doyle's words, heightened in spoken presentation, is especially affecting in the opening section, which describes the tough childhood of his Dublin hero, Henry Smart (strongly evoking Dickens and Joyce). Henry is an orphan, left behind by his motherA"ruined beyond repair" at his birth. His father, a one-legged enforcer at a local brothel, doesn't last long either. Living on the streets at age nine, Henry is the sole protector of his consumptive younger brother. His circumstances never get him down, though, because he knows that he is "the brightest spark in a city full of bright and desperate sparks." As the plot develops (Henry takes part in the 1916 Easter uprising and joins the fledgling Irish Republican Army, evolving into a warrior and a leader), Doyle's story becomes more linear, more like a standard action thriller. Yet he never fails listeners with his strong storytelling skills, which will keep all keenly tuned. Simultaneous release with the Viking hardcover. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 343 pages
• Publisher: Viking Press; Book Club edition (1999)
• ISBN-10: 0965027546
• ISBN-13: 978-0965027540
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (133 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,729,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Roddy Doyle is the author of eight novels, a collection of stories, and Rory & Ita, a memoir of his parents. He won the Booker Prize in 1993 for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. He lives and works in Dublin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roddy's Finest Hour, November 26, 1999

By 

John Barry - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Star Called Henry (Hardcover)

A Star Called Henry is probably far more accurate in its portrayal of Ireland in the last years of British rule than many would realise. The activities of the members of Michael Collins' "Squad" were much like those performed by Henry Smart, who was, in the novel, on the periphery of possibly the most effective counter-intellegence agency in the world. Roddy Doyle's excellent novel captures the period as well as anything I have hitherto read on the subject. He captures the feeling of Dubliners towards the Easter Rising, before and after the executions, and the attitude of those beyond the Pale (English-controlled region around Dublin, where the phrase comes from) to the "jackeens". Henry's delay in leaving Ireland was, I believe, not as surprising as some seem to think. Henry had great loyalty towards Michael Collins, similar to his feelings towards James Connolly, a debt of honour, if you will, that kept him from abandoning him while that was unresolved. After his betrayal and the death of Collins, he was free to leave the country. These attributes are visible in the character of Henry Smart, and are a major influence on his actions. His various loyalties are strong and are probably the driving force of his life.

Before A Star Called Henry, I wasn't much a fan of Roddy Doyle the author, preferring the film versions of the Barrytown Trilogy, but I await with anticipation the remaining books in his latest Trilogy.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Doyle's new book begins the story of an IRA assassin, November 24, 1999

By 

Cityview (Des Moines, Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Star Called Henry (Hardcover)

Roddy Doyle's great new book, "A Star Called Henry," is a stirring rush of a story set at the beginning of the century as the Irish Republic Army is taking shape. The novel, the first in a trilogy planned by Doyle, takes narrator Henry Smart from an infant in his boozy mother's arms to a damaged 20-year-old with a long career as an IRA assassin. Henry's addled mom spends her time looking up the stars, which represent all the children she has lost. His father is a dim-witted bouncer at a Dublin brothel who threatens (and kills) people with his wooden leg. Henry takes to the streets, developing keen survival skills and contempt for the forces that keep he and his family down. He hooks up with men who hate the British. Henry, while a bitter youth, is apolitical and is just looking for adventure and sustenance. Henry also has an odd, Bonnie and Clyde-style romance with Miss O'Shea, an older woman as eager to battle the Brits as any man. Doyle mixes in real historical figures (his depiction of famed rebel Michael Collins is wonderfully entertaining) and events into Henry's adventurous life. But, this is no romanticized tale of Ireland's fight for liberation. The book is filled with flawed leaders, inducing violence and putting Ireland's innocent a risk in the name of profit, as well as freedom. Henry grows up fast and his narration comes at a breakneck pace. In the beginning, Henry is a folk hero. He makes it clear he is a great warrior and lover, and quite possibly a genius. By the end, he has realized the tragic cost of the cause for which he has committed murder - a cause that eventually turns on him.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Astonishing New Step for Roddy Doyle, November 19, 2000

By 

Stone Junction "The Suburban Hobo" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Star Called Henry (The Last Roundup, Vol. 1) (Paperback)

One of the great perils for successful authors must be that point when they decide to 'stretch' their creative wings. The horror writers pens an introspective character study (Stephen King - ROADWORK). The English satirist attempts an American crime novel (Martin Amis - NIGHT TRAIN). The crime novelist delves into science fiction (Walter Mosley - BLUE LIGHT). At times like this, the fan base holds its collective breath, hoping for the best, fearing the worst. After all, why mess with a good thing?

A STAR CALLED HENRY, thank God, is one of the good ones. Great ones actually.

Previously, Irish novelist Roddy Doyle has focused his talents on life in modern-day Ireland. His works have been small character studies, with simple plots that come alive through Doyle's ear for dialogue and eye for intriguing themes. PADDY CLARKE HA HA HA, while considered a departure from his BARRYTOWN TRILOGY novels of blue collar Irish, was nevertheless a similar sort of story. A very small, intimate view of remarkable characters.

But A STAR CALLED HENRY takes Doyle into the new realms of historical fiction. In a story that can only be described as 'epic', Doyle traces the formative years of Henry Smart, street urchin turned IRA assassin, living at the beginning of the 20th century, as Ireland began to revolt against its English rulers.

Henry's beginnings show that Doyle has not traded his gift of characterization for narrative sweep. Henry's starts his tale before he was conceived, as his well-meaning but young mother falls in love with Henry Senior, a one-legged bouncer and hitman. With terrific economy of style, Doyle manages to convey both the excitement and desperation of Henry's life. After his abandonment by his father (in a heart-wrenching scene of loneliness and betrayal), Henry takes to the streets. But lest the reader believe that Doyle will begin to cultivate Henry as a loveable pickpocket a la OLIVER TWIST, the subject matter ensures that Henry's path will be a dark one.

As the years pass, and Henry grows into quite the ladies man (at 14 years old, no less), he becomes embroiled in the quickening Irish rebellion. He becomes a hitman for the cause, and a student of famous IRA leaders, most notably Michael Collins. He also marries Miss O'Shea, his elementary school teacher (for about two days), and together they begin to rewrite Irish history.

As I said, Doyle has not lost his knack for characters. Henry is a true original, a vicious killer and confused young boy. His relationship with Miss O'Shea is touching, if slightly bizarre. His continued search for elements of his past through his book-reading Granny is a plot device of startling originality.

But Doyle also shows his new-found maturity as a writer in his mixture of fact and fiction. He expertly traces the IRA rebellion, from its admirable roots to its disheartening failures. It is not an exhaustive examination; Henry himself is not one of the top men. But enough information is given to enable the uninformed reader to understand the situation. Doyle might have been tempted to flood the reader with names, dates, and events, but he wisely avoids the trap of simply listing famous events and putting Henry in the middle of them. Every scene has a purpose. While the revolution may be the backdrop, it is first and foremost Henry's story.

Doyle has proclaimed that A STAR CALLED HENRY is only the first volume in a planned epic entitled THE LAST ROUNDUP. While I eagerly await the second volume, I am also cautiously afraid. A STAR CALLED HENRY might be best left as a stand-alone novel. Thinking of Larry McMurtry's LONESOME DOVE quartet (a terrific set, really, but arguably shouldn't have continued past STREETS OF LAREDO), I can only hope that Doyle keeps up the same level of quality. Henry Smart is too fine a character to appear in sub-par sequels.