Juno and the Paycock

by Seán O'Casey and Patricia Robinson Jordan

Book Overview

Juno Boyle, a hard-working Dublin (Ireland) tenement dweller whose husband, 'Captain' Jack Boyle, is unwilling to get a job and spends most of his day swilling booze and reminiscing about the past... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0573012148
• ISBN13: 9780573012143
• Release Date: February 1968
• Publisher: Samuel French Ltd
• Length: 106 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Hard Family Life - Ireland circa 1922.

This is about a family - Boyle, Mrs. Boyle, son Johnny and daughter Mary. There are a few family friends Joxer Daly, Jerry Devine and then there's Mr. Benthem Boyle's a laybout who shirks work to drink and associate with Joxer. Johnny was in the Republican Army and got wounded costing him an arm and a hurt hip. Mrs. Boyle is sensible and tries to keep things together. She spends a fair amount of dialogue complaining about Boyle's slacker ways. Mary also seems sensible but romantically unlucky and a bit naive. Act I - Towards the end Mr. Benthem shows up and explains that a cousin of Boyle's has died. Act II - Boyle starts living as if he's already received the money, buying things on credit. [SPOILER ALERT] Act III - The will turns out to be confused. The money isn't just for Boyle but is to be split between all the cousins of the deceased. The family isn't going to see much, if anything. Mary gets pregnant by Mr. Bentham, who has left for England where he is no longer in touch. The Republican army kills Johnny. Mary and Mrs. Boyle leave Mr. Boyle broke and drunk and go to live with her sister, hoping to do their best to raise Mary's upcoming child. [/SPOILER ALERT] What I liked about this - the characters were well drawn, powerful. It was interesting to read about this time and place. It's a tragedy but it has a humorous side to it as well. On the downside the dialogue is in Irish working class vernacular from 1922 and I sometimes found it tough to follow what was going on. For example: Mrs. Boyle - "An Irelan's takin' a leaf out o' the world's buk; when we got the makin of our own laws, I thought we'd never stop to look behind us, but instead we never stopped to look before us! If the people ud folley up their religion betther there'd be a better chance for us - what do you think, Mr Bentham?"