The International

by Glenn Patterson

January 1967. An ordinary Saturday in the Blue Bar of the International Hotel in Belfast. While 18-year-old Danny pulls pints, he contemplates his future and the bar's varied clientele. But ordinary Saturdays like this are almost over. On the next day the hotel will host the inaugural meeting of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, and the slide towards the troubles will begin.

Genres: Irish Literature, Fiction, Ireland, Queer, School, Historical, Novels

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, which I read originally on its release in 1999, was my original introduction to Glenn Patterson, who I now cite as my favourite author. When asked which novel I'd see as my favourite ever, I often say The International. Having reread the novel in 2015, I'm delighted to report that my opinion hasn't changed in that regard.

Set on possibly the last 'normal' day that Belfast was to see for decades-Saturday 28 January 1967-the story is a first person narrative from the viewpoint of 18 year old Danny, a barman in the Blue Bar of the International Hotel on Donegall Square South, and tells the stories of the people who pass through the doors of the bar and hotel on that day. The day and setting are significant-the next day, in real life, the inaugural meeting of the NI Civil Society Association was held in the same hotel; Danny is also significant due to the fact that he is the fictional replacement barman for Peter Ward, a 17 year old shot dead by the UVF in 1966, one of the first sectarian murders in what was to become a bloody conflict in the city in the decades to come.

While the book has the shadow of this latter event and the potential of this former event running through its pages, it isn't a dark read-the day's events capture the rhythms of the bar's busy day perfectly, with countless laughs thrown in for good measure. Through the narrative, we learn the reason for Danny actually working in the bar, and how he uses his position to his advantage when it comes to his personal life, a thread which in itself throws a positive light on an issue rarely touched by Irish writers.

We are party to the 'powerful craic' enjoyed by the bar and hotel staff as they work, as well as the goings on inside the hotel-a famous footballer, currently injured, aiming to gain commercial sponsorship before his time in the limelight fades, corrupt businessmen keen to capitalise on infrastructure improvements, a children's entertainer hoping to break into the world of television, two very different wedding parties with their associated detritus, as well as the normal comings and goings of the regulars of the bar as the day progresses.

As a resident of Belfast who has a love for its social history, these events have massive resonance for me, and, having been in many Belfast bars on many similar Saturdays, as well as having worked as a student in similar city centre surroundings, Patterson captures things perfectly. I was lucky, coming of age in the mid '90s, to be able to experience such atmosphere in city centre bars; what is so poignant about this book, is that it captures a mood and atmosphere that was soon to be lost as the cloud of The Troubles cast its long shadow over the city.

One of the most powerful quotes for me comes near the end of the book, when Danny interacts with one of the would be speakers at the meeting scheduled for the next day; when asked about the meeting to come, the guest states, 'You can never tell with these things...what way they'll go.' Given hindsight, spine chilling words.

All in all, for me, this is the perfect read for anyone interested in the 'real' Belfast. It may not be everyone's cup of tea or play to the stereotypical fiction that overseas readers want to read about the city-go to Adrian McKinty or Stuart Neville if you want that kind of overblown fiction-but, trust me, this is the 'real deal'.

Will Self, a number of years ago, in response to Seamus Heaney being given the title Poet Laureate of Belfast, suggested that Glenn Patterson should be named the city's Prose Laureate-a worthy title, without doubt. I went on a Patterson 'blitz' having read this novel originally, reading his previous three novels in quick succession, and buying each subsequent book on release. Given how much I enjoyed this novel on rereading, it feels like high time I revisit the rest of his work...

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars for me. I hold back from giving it 5 stars as this book has a specific context which may not translate for all readers. In this brilliant novel, Patterson captures a moment in time literally by writing about a single day, January 28, 1967. This extraordinary book reveals Belfast as the living, breathing, and growing city it was before the Troubles. There have already been a few sectarian killings but no one has any notion of what is to come. There are corrupt politicians and businessmen who are scheming to build a motorway through Belfast. Sectarian politics are there also, but still in the background. Religious identity is rarely discussed, and the main character Daniel is the product of a mixed marriage, wasn’t raised in any church, and attended the local school (Protestant) because it was convenient. Everything about sex was hidden, and sexual repression was a way of life. It was the 60’s, but sexual liberation hadn’t reached Belfast (nevertheless, sex still happened). The setting of this novel is the International Hotel, which the author notes at the end of the book, closed in 1975. It was an elegant place for a city like Belfast, and nearby was another great hotel, Belfast’s Grand Central Hotel, which closed in 1972 and was taken over by the British Army. The mother of friend worked in The Grand Central Hotel during the war. Like one of the young women working in The International, my friend’s mother was a country girl (Tyrone). Anne Enright who provides notes at the end of the book calls this the best book written about the Troubles. I recommend reading her notes after finishing the book as there are some minor spoilers. I’ve read some Patterson, but will definitely make some of my TBR by him on my shelves priority reading for 2015.

I reread this in April 2025 with my book group at the Linen Hall Library Belfast. As I live outside of Washington, DC, I attend via Zoom. Several of the participants were familiar with the hotel and the various places described in the book which made the discussion interesting. I am glad that I reread it!

[Donna McCaul Thibodeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. I was actually born in Belfast but lived in Derry, so am not very familiar with landmarks, etc. However, I enjoyed Danny Boys description of a day in the life of a barman at The International.

[Sonja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm I don't know how to feel about this book... Some of it was boring, some of it interesting.

If this hadn't been required reading for uni, I would never have started (let alone finished) this book at all 😭

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Maybe the drunk woman was right that it's the best novel about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. I don't know, but it was a very good book!

[Zarah Drummond · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
Very enjoyable read of a story from the perspective of a young bartender in a Belfast hotel in the mid 60s. Patterson paints the atmosphere of the hotel and all its characters realistically and with liveliness. The style/ tone of his voice has a very charismatic/ sardonic witty northern Irish charm. The book isn’t about the troubles but you’re also aware of its beginning in the background. Some similarities with ‘The Gentleman from Moscow’ in terms of using a hotel over time as insight into history passing. Also enjoyed the insights into Danny’s coming of age experience, and what it was like to be queer in 60s Belfast. His wit, as the protagonist makes the novel always enjoyable even when the plot wanders off in unexpected directions. It’s one of those books where not a lot happens but you feel attached to the characters, setting and time they inhabit.

[Irisriete · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started of very interesting and it gripped me, but once I got over half of it/towards 2/3 of it, I struggled to carry on.
It started as an insight into Belfast Ireland in 1967 but there were so many characters that were way more detailed than necessary for the story.
So I guess it's a 3/5 for me

[Ainara · Rating 2 out of 5]

No he entendido una mierda, me he tenido que leer este libro para hablar sobre el tema del trauma en Northern Ireland y sigo sin saber que escribir sobre este tema…

[maja · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF truly one of the most boring novels i read recently

[Karolina Bojdoł · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf p. 95 i tried, i really did but this book is so painfully boring, honestly don’t remember the last time I had to force myself this hard to keep reading

[Fifi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*

[Lotte Bootsman · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Marijn Benschop · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this novel twice now, for my thesis. In the narrative the day before the inaugural meeting of the NICRA is described by a hotel barman named Danny. This particular meeting of the Civil Rights Association can be seen as one of the starting points of the period of violence during the Troubles in Ireland. What is interesting about The International is that it only addresses this moment in an off-hand manner: to the characters in the book it is just another day in Belfast rather than a historical moment. And it is precisely the colloquial interactions that Patterson captures so well in dialogue; with witty remarks, moments of awkwardness, and the overarching feeling of regret in Danny’s narrative. On the second read it struck me how funny the book actually is: on almost every page there is some kind of joke, sarcasm, or form of irony. The only lulls in the book in my reading experience were the parts about Ingrid and Stanley’s lives. It is a bit of a luxury problem though: Danny’s narrative is so fun to read that you want to get back to it as quickly as possible. The parts about Stanley and Ingrid do add extremely well to the overarching feeling of regret.
I am not sure if The International is the best book concerned with the Troubles to read, but I definitely recommend it for the fun reading experience. I genuinely had to laugh several times.

[Ilona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dit boek viel me echt 100% mee. Leuk geschreven, interessant om zo aan de vooravond van The Troubles te zitten in plaats van er middenin en de hoofdpersoon was ook sympathiek. Iets te rommelig wel voor 5 sterren (in het begin kon ik niet gemakkelijk bijhouden wie nou precies wie was), dus vandaar dat ik er maar 4 geef.

[aisu · Rating 4 out of 5]

me, yelling into glenn patterson’s unsuspecting ear: I WOULD DIE FOR YOU

[Isabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

• Read for Contesting the Past. DNF’ed this on page 71.

[Kate Zimmerbaum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Set the day before a civil rights group (Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement) meets/forms in the International Hotel in Belfast in 1967 - which will mark the beginning of the civil rights protests which unionists in Northern Ireland blame for the Troubles.

A snapshot of Belfast - the hotel as a microcosm - through the eyes of an observer who is raised as part of the Protestant community but considers himself neutral.

Takes some basic facts from history (the murders of three Catholic employees of the International Hotel by Gusty Spence and the UVF a few months before the meeting, the upcoming civil rights meeting) and weaves the story of a day in the hotel - told from the perspective of a barman.

OK. Defense of Gusty Spence at the end kind of gratuitous/ the author intrudes here quite obviously - but still, an interesting point of view.

[Cat Letley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Encapsulating, intriguing and tangible. There’s a sense that some major event or reveal is coming but it never arrives; slightly anticlimactic however all of the story lines come together in a way that seems fitting for the context; some things are left unfinished or unsaid, completely appropriate for a story that takes place at the beginning of the Troubles; so many plans and lives would have been left unfinished, and an insurmountable amount of things are still left unsaid

[Lo (kipepeo) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid book! Getting a snapshot of Belfast right before the Troubles makes it a fascinating snapshot into life at the time, right before decades of violence and turmoil were to begin. This was a school read.

**3 stars**

[Caitie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really charming, and the last chapter is a gut punch that made me cry.

[AT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. Belfast dialogue and all the historical detail down to a 'T'!

[Mijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dubliners but Belfast

[josefien :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

slay boek, bizar dat je zoveel kan vertellen over 1 dag. minder slay is dat ik hier binnen 24 uur een essay over klaar moet hebben SOOOSSSS . ik heb nog 0 woorden x

[Alex Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very slay book, I enjoyed reading this book in a Belfast Pub.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Salomėja Laurinavičiūtė · Rating 5 out of 5]

mano airiams kompanionams, kurie mane įtikino kad nešiojuos truputėlį jų akcento, ir visiems kitiems

[Araison · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is one of those books that I only enjoyed because I knew the context and intent. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much without knowing about the book beforehand.

[Keymil · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 . some parts were major snoozefests, but I couldn't help but see myself in Danny...... (+ the ending blew me away)

[Eline Martens · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ☆

[Paul Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A "troubles" book that isn't really about the Troubles. Set immediately before the setting up of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement, the story is told through the lives of barmen at the International Hotel and some of their clients. For readers from Northern Ireland, it takes us back to a form of 1967 normality, of people out to enjoy themselves or simply to get drunk. We also see the central character Danny questioning his sexuality at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Northern Ireland. Having got to know the cast of characters, not all of whom are likeable, the final chapter is a poignant reminder of the impact the Troubles were to have on the lives of people in Northern Ireland.