Love

A Novel

By: Roddy Doyle

Narrated by: Morgan C. Jones

Two old friends reconnect in Dublin for a dramatic, revealing evening of drinking and storytelling in this winning new novel from the author of the Booker Prize winning Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha

One summer's evening, two men meet up in a Dublin restaurant.

Drinking pals back in their youth, now married and with grown up children, their lives have taken seemingly similar paths. But Joe has a secret he needs to tell Davy, and Davy has a sorrow he wants to keep from Joe. Both are not the men they used to be.

Joe has left his wife and family for another woman, Jessica. Davy knows her too, or should - she was the girl of their dreams four decades earlier, the girl with the cello in George's pub. As Joe's story unfolds across Dublin - pint after pint, pub after pub - so too do the memories of what eventually drove Davy from Ireland: his first encounter with Faye, the lively woman who would become his wife; his father's somber disapproval; the pained spaces left behind when a parent dies.

As the two friends try to reconcile their versions of the past over the course of one night, Love offers a delightfully comic yet moving portrait of the many forms love can take throughout our lives.

Disappointed

While many aspects of love were explored in interesting ways, the book would’ve been much shorter without the very very choppy dialogue that seemed to go nowhere, and if the word f*** were eliminated the book would’ve been about 2/3rds as long

Moving & believable

I'm a roddy doyle fan and this book showcases his ear for the way real people talk. During a drunken evening big scary topics are discussed, skirted around and reiterated in a totally believable way. As the two men grow drunk, old rivalries surface along with ancient ties.

It's a quick read despite being long than many of his previous books. Less flat out comedy and more of the slow sadness of ageing. Overall it's rather beautiful.

If you've loved his work before, definitely get this one. If you're new to his work, be aware that this is a little darker and a little sadder than the many body of his work.

Poignant

Very human and quiet story with lovely narration by Morgan C Jones. Probably not for everybody, but it struck a chord with me.

Amazing Story About Storytelling

At first it wasn’t being read as well as I had read it to myself when I read it as a physical book, but as the lads got more into their pints, the more I fell in love with the narrator. It really is just a great tale about getting old, falling in and out of love with your place, your people, and yourself.

Moving and realistic

Men are not known for showing emotions but in this pub crawling saga Joe and Dave struggle with words and their truth comes out. For one night they become real friends again after years of separation. Unsentimental and very real about buried emotions