A Star Called Henry (Paperback, New edition)

Henry Smart is exceptional. Born in a Dublin slum in 1901, he is the healthiest baby anyone there has ever seen. His father, a one-legged brothel bouncer and hitman for the shadowy Alfie Gandon, disappears while Henry is still an infant; his teenage mother goes slowly mad. At age five, Henry is fending for himself; at 14, and measuring over six foot, he is the youngest combatant in the 1916 Easter Rising. By the novel's end, he has played a starring role in Ireland's wars of independence. He is 20 and disillusioned with revolution. Part mystery, part love story, part historical intervention, A Star Called Henry adds new dimensions to Doyle's trademark wit and narrative drive. Much attention will focus on his less-than-reverent treatment of the myths of Irish republicanism, but more surprising (though perhaps not unconnected) is the novels's creation of an old-fashioned action hero, one who gets the girl and all the best lines besides. If you like a man who claims 'I'd never paid for a ride before in my life', you'll love Henry Smart. (Kirkus UK)

Born in the slums of Dublin in 1902, 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, begging, often cold, always hungry, but a prince of the streets. At fourteen, already six foot two, Henry’s in the General Post Office on Easter Monday 1916, a soldier in the Irish Citizen Army, fighting for freedom. A year later he’s ready to die for Ireland again, a rebel, a Fenian and soon, 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.

An historical novel like none before it, A Star Called Henry marks a new chapter in Roddy Doyle’s writing. It is a vastly more ambitious book than any he has written before. A subversive look behind the legends of Irish republicanism, at its centre a passionate love story, this is a triumphant work of fiction.

General

Imprint:	Vintage
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	September 2000
First published:	September 2001
Authors:	Roddy Doyle
Dimensions:	198 x 131 x 23mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - B-format
Pages:	343
Edition:	New edition
ISBN-13:	978-0-09-928448-2
Categories:	Books > Fiction > General & literary fiction > Modern fiction
LSN:	0-09-928448-0
Barcode:	9780099284482

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