The Complete Two Pints

by Roddy Doyle

Two men meet for a pint in a Dublin pub...

In 2012, Roddy Doyle showed us the world anew: through the back-and-forth of two Dublin pub-dwellers. They chewed the fat, set the world to rights, slagged each other unmercifully. And along the way, they chased the ebb and flow and stupidity of the year right to the bottom of their pints.

Today, they're still at it - even over Zoom, if needs be. Collected for the first time, here is almost a decade's worth of elections and referendums, births and deaths, football, financial crashes, pandemics and the philosophical questions of life, as told through the wit and warmth of Roddy Doyle's comic genius.

Includes: Two Pints , Two More Pints , Two for the Road - and, for the first time in print, Two Pints: The Play and The Zoom Pints

Genres: Ireland

432 pages, Paperback

Published March 4, 2021

About the author

Roddy Doyle (Irish: Ruaidhrí Ó Dúill) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. Several of his books have been made into successful films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991. He won the Booker Prize in 1993.

Doyle grew up in Kilbarrack, Dublin. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from University College, Dublin. He spent several years as an English and geography teacher before becoming a full-time writer in 1993.

Reviews

[Maltheus Broman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two Pints is a hilarious collection of short dialogues (titled each with dates from 2011 to 2020) between two old regulars in a pub. Reading it feels much like evesdropping while pulling pints. The two guests discuss family life as grandfathers, recent deaths, sports, world news, and other stuff.

There are many running gags and build-up jokes, but also a surpising variety of absurdities, slagging, and other types of fun. Every time they chat about the obituaries or which celebrity 'is after dyin' now', the names and deaths bring back memories which sometimes seem to be from yesterday while others rise from eternities ago.

The perfect book for short breaks at work. Great craic!

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two men in a bar discussing world events while drinking their pints.

Doyle's style is engaging and the observations are witty. Well worth a read.

[Tracy Hollen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I enjoyed the play the most.
The rest was basically a list of celebrity deaths and silliness.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book presents a long series of short excerpts from conversations between two well-meaning old codgers who meet regularly in an Irish pub from 2010 up to the pandemic. There's no plot. It reads as though it were published serially over many years rather than conceived with a plan and a structure. And it's wonderful. I was slow to get into the rhythm, but I came to enjoy very much the mixture of humor and befuddlement with which these two old guys (unnamed) respond to the events of the day. Each piece is like a little amuse-bouche. Some recurring topics include sports, obituaries, shifting gender mores, and who is or isn't "one of the lads," which appears to be their term of highest praise. Over the past few years current events have come to dominate my own anxiety landscape, and I appreciate this sometimes hilarious record of normal people bumbling through the same territory.

[Seraphina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely laugh out loud moments the whole way through, looking back at historical moments, political moments, football, music, and tv. Cracked me up. I think if you're not familiar with irish humour, it may not hit as much. But I enjoyed it.

[Wendy Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

The complete two pints - Roddy Doyle DNF 20 11 21
Dialogue between 2 chaps in a pub against the backdrop of world news, their longstanding jokes - sharp funny bollocks that people talk in pubs. I hadn't realised it was a collection of pieces that you can only digest so much of but I would have finished it if it not for annoying technical problems I was having with the ereader with this particular volume.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It really deserves 4 stars as towards the end it made me laugh out loud. The play version condensed the affection and connection and poignancy of the male to male relationship.

A celebration of “post-masculinity” in many ways this could be a dip in dip out book, but I think reading each conversation in rapid succession provides insight into the way Doyle observes men connecting with each other.

[Carolyn Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of bite-sized servings of two fellas talking nonsense in a pub. The love, loyalty and friendship between the nameless pair of mates in the boozer shines through the banter. The accents and rhythm of the speech grabbed me so hard I ended up mouthing the words as I read; I can't think of anyone who writes pure dialogue any better than Doyle. If you're in need of belly laughs, bring your belly and buckle up.

[Peter Holz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've already read and reviewed Two Pints and Two More Pints and picked this up to complete the set with Two Pints: The Play and The Zoom Pints. More brilliant hilarity. It's rare for a book to make me laugh out loud and provide such immeasurable joy and amusement.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laugh out loud in places. For me, a much more enjoyable read than ‘Love’ which was written to a similar format but, where this is focused and funny, that was tedious and rambling.

[Kevin J]

How can I rate this hilarious, uplifting, clever nonsense?

[Yolanda Carhell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this - wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t either from Dublin, or has lived there for a while.

[Julian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have read the whole thing before and quite enjoyed it. Nothing like going to a pub with old friends to discuss current events. The zoom section was short but glad they kept in touch.

[Grim-Anal King · Rating 2 out of 5]

This made me laugh a few times, but it's far too repetitive.

[Karl Rochfort · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to go back time after time to reread my favourite conversations.

[Chris O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the stage play the most.

[Joseph Whelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Verry funny, full of really good gags. This book will bring a smile to your face every time you open it.