Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha -- kookiejar's review


This is an excerpt of my full review which can be read here.

I wasn't sure, at first, where this novel was going - if anywhere.

For the first half of the book we simply follow 10 year old Paddy Clarke through his day to day life in Barrytown, Ireland. We see (always through his eyes) his interactions with his parents, his baby sister and his younger brother whom he calls Sinbad. We go to school with Paddy and Sinbad and are witness to all the schoolyard antics and adventures that seem universal to all children that age.

Throughout, we are treated to Paddy's thoughts and the inconsequential actions that make up the lives of children.

"My ma read books. Mostly at night. She licked her fingers when she was coming to the end of her page, then she turned the page; she pulled up the corner with her wet finger. In the morning, I found her book marker, a bit of newspaper, in the book and I counted back the number of pages she'd read the night before. The record was forty-two."

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