I saw the movie years ago and it was great. But even though I read a lot of other Roddy Doyle books, this one had passed me by.
Recently I read The Guts which homes in on some of the characters from the Commitments some years up the track. That was, as they might say in the lingo of the book, grand.
So I decided to seek out the Commitments.
It was cheaper to buy The Barrytown Trilogy, which also includes The Snapper and The Van, both of which I've read with roaring laughter, than buy the Commitments on its own. But I'm glad now I did. It gives me two very funny books to reread.
As for the Commitments, it ended differently to the movie but very much the same.
Confused? Well read it and see for yourself.