The Commitments

by Roddy Doyle

Book Overview

In the first volume of the Barrytown Trilogy, Roddy Doyle, winner of the Booker Prize for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha , introduces The Commitments, a group of fame-starved, working-class Irish youths with a paradoxical passion for the music of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding and a mission--to bring Soul to Dublin. Doyle writes about the band with a fan's enthusiasm and about Dublin with a native's cheerful knowingness. His book captures all the shadings of the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679721746
• ISBN13: 9780679721741
• Release Date: July 1989
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 165 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Swinging!

Dublin soul music jumps right off the pages of this book. It's a light read - the literary equivalent of a feel-good movie - but a good one. And the good feeling will stay with you after you've put the book down.The style is very direct, a lot of conversation, as Roddy Doyle chronicles the struggles of Jimmy Rabbitte as he tries to put a soul band together.

Committed

The Committments is a novel of dialogue--or, more accurately, dialect. It tells of the formation of Dublin Soul. Soul music in Ireland? Well, the theory is that the Irish are the "[outcasts]" of Europe, and the Dubliners are the "[outcasts]" of Ireland, and the North Siders are the...you get the point. Rescuing a couple of mates from the horrors of playing Depeche Mode, Jimmy Rabitte puts together The Committments by placing an ad in the paper reading: "Have you got Soul? If yes, the World's Hardest Working Band is looking for you." Jimmy, the manager, has got a good head on his shoulders. He knows the music business (having eaten Melody Maker and NME for breakfast every day), so his question for potential band members is simple: What are your influences? He gets a drummer who idolizes Animal of the Muppets, a saxophonist who says Clarence Clemons and the guy from Madness, and trumpet player Joey "The Lips" Fagen, who proves to be the superglue for the group. Joey "The Lips" has played with everybody who was anybody, talks like a southern evangelicist, and, man, can he play that horn. And, because soul music is the music of "ridin'" (read: sex), Jimmy finds The Committmentettes, to provide the visual component as well as backup and lead on songs by the Motown girl groups. Add a piano player, change some lyrics to fit the politics of Ireland, and you have achieved Dublin Soul. The Beatles were four poor sods from Liverpool, and they only managed to stay together for 9 years. How long are nine desperate for attention Dubliners going to stay together? Ah, there's the rub. There is true humor in this book, humor that speaks to you if you ever played in a band or follow rock music. There's also enough situational humor to cross over for those who don't necessarily go for this type of book. And there's a moral/point/call-it-what-you-will, as well.

Kneecappingly Fun

Roddy Doyle creates the "world's hardest working soul band" in Dublin with his masterpiece The Commitments. The stage is set as And And And is disbanded and Jimmy Rabbitte is brought on as the new manager of The Commitments. Because of Jimmy's immense knowledge of the entire music scene, the band places their trust in him to get them shows, or gigs as the lingo goes. The entire novel is spoken in Irish brogue and can be difficult to understand at first glance. As the novel picks up speed, and the band begins to actually become a band, the brogue seems to lift off the page to allow the reader to actually be present for the conversation. The entire novel places the reader as a spectator in the lives of a dawning soul group. One cannot help but be drawn into the conflicts between the possibility of being called "The Meatman" or "The Soul Surgeon," and how could an older man have a fling with the three back-up singers?The whole novel is about the loyalty created through the common desire for soul. Soul governs the entire one hundred and sixty-five pages of The Commitments. The American influence of soul on seven Dubliners creates a desire to find out what soul truly is. Soul is sex. Soul is politics. Soul is the antithesis of jazz. The Commitments unleash every ounce of Dublin Soul to their awaiting public. With James Brown as the patriarch, The commitments campaign to give Dublin Soul to Dublin.The Commitments is a hilarious novel full of almost real people. The only thing separating this book from a transcript of the real world is that all the characters are in Doyle's mind. This is perhaps on of the funniest novels I have ever read. It contained living, vibrant characters that display human qualities of hubris, jealousy, joy, shyness and eventually loss. You will laugh so hard you'll fall to your knees and almost kneecap yourself.

Hilarious

This book is superb as it will make you laugh for a very long time. Doyle follows the times of young Dubliner, Jimmy Rabbite, who aims to set up a soul group with the help of his two friends Outspan and Derek. To begin with, they are awful musicians apart from Deco, who can truly sing but has an awful personality.Togther they form a brilliant band and cover great soul classics and they even add the Dubliny bits here and there to them. Yet, the fame changes them all and is destructive. I really like this book, although it is a true comical novel there are moments which make you sad and laugh at the same time! It has to be said, Dole is a genius.

Spectacular.

This was the first Roddy Doyle novel I ever read, and I think it's still my favorite. I go back and read it again every 2 or 3 months just to make sure it's still great. The book is virtually 100% dialogue; it only takes a few pages before the characters are talking amongst themselves in my head. I almost forget that the characters are so firmly placed in Dublin because they remind me so much of my own friends. There's pretty much a belly laugh on every page, but Doyle also peppers the text with transcultural issues such as the meaning of family, the struggle of the working class, and the simple joy of living. These themes are there for you to consider and examine if you want to, but Doyle doesn't lecture or force them upon the reader. The book works on so many levels that even if you're just in the mood for a quick chuckle, it's a highly recommended remedy.