The Raggy Boy Trilogy

by Patrick Galvin

Book by Galvin, Patrick

Genres: Ireland, Memoir, Irish Literature, Biography

400 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jovana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have different thoughts about each of the 3 parts of this trilogy.

Part 1: Great cast of characters, setting and story. This should have been an entire book. 4 stars.

Part 2: The best premise of the 3 instalments, but the choppy execution prevented it from living up to its potential. 3 stars.

Part 3: The least interesting plot of the 3 to me. Conversely to the other 2, this part felt drawn out. 2 stars.

[Derek Bridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Song for a Poor Boy: A child-level view of a poor but happy early-years upbringing in 1930s Cork with poetry and whimsy in equal measure. Lovely!

Song for a Raggy Boy: Beautifully crafted. A condemnation of the Church: set in a mid-twentieth century reformatory in Ireland, the brutal is facilitated by the ineffective.

Song for a Fly Boy: The madness of war (WW2); chaos; casual racism; disaffection. But told with wry warmth.

[Lydia Mae Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I was so unsure on this book and thought about giving up on it - I don’t read many memoirs and don’t ever lean towards poetic prose either.

Part 1 had a good premise but was lacking a bit. Luckily, parts 2 and 3 brought the book back to life - particularly part 3 on Galvin’s experiences as an Irishman in WW2!

Ending was a little abrupt though

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetic prose with just enough Irish sarcasm sprinkled in, fabulous

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written and just over all a great three story memoir.

[Steve Kluger · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first ordered "The Raggy Boy Trilogy," I thought I was getting another moody "Angela's Ashes" kind of thing. Then I began reading it. Somewhere in the first ten or twenty pages, I heard myself laughing out loud at a totally unexpected line. It happened again a dozen pages later. And then routinely throughout the rest of the book--but at irregular intervals so that you never knew when it was coming next.

"The Raggy Boy Trilogy" IS a serious memoir, but the author's tongue is so firmly entrenched in his cheek that you're always comforted by the fact that, even in the direst of circumstances, this is a kid who knows how to take care of himself. It's virtually a textbook on the art of understatement. I LOVE this guy!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is superb. Galvin's memories of his early boyhood in Cork are delightful, the time in a Catholic reformatory horrifying and his description of his RAF service (at 16) hilarious and hopefully satirical.

[A. Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

These three memoirs are very enjoyable reading, and the opening volume is nowhere near as harsh as Aisling Walsh's adaptation.

[Estelle]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13721753