Celtic-ness and "The Woman Who Walked Into Doors"

This weekend, I went home to attend the Celtic Fling and Highland Games in Lancaster, PA at the Mt. Hope Estate and Winery (where they hold the PA Renassiance Faire every year). It's a whole weekend of Celtic bands playing on a variety of stages, and there's lots of singing, dancing, drinking, parading, and other such fun events. This year, my friend Anna went with me, and, as always happens when Anna and I and beer get together, we got all nostalgic about Ireland (where we both studied abroad) and college (we were friends, in the same program at SU). Which, of course, led us to talking about one of the classes we had together senior year: Contemporary Irish Novels. We read six of the most despressing novels ever for that class. So, I thought it would be only appropriate to blog about the only book from that class that I've actually reread (and brought with me).

"The Woman Who Walked Into Doors"
Roddy Doyle
Penguin, 1997
ISBN: 978-0140255126

Paula Spencer has just been widowed. The loss of her husband seems only to open the door, and through a very honest voice, she confesses and confronts the demons of her past and present.

This book is very hard to summarize, because the attraction of it is the voice. Paula Spencer is an abused housewife, a single mother (more or less), and an alcoholic. She unfolds a history of past abuses, from high school years to her present state. It's not really a plot driven book, but instead a character study. And Doyle really captures a voice. You feel that Paula is at least believable, if not a real person. And while the average reader cannot have the same experiences as Paula exactly, it is easy to sympathize with her. This book also casts a light on the world of domestic violence. It's chilling, the way Paula describes both the events and the aftermaths. She defends the violence to herself, and describes the doctor looks away from her broken arm, bruises, and cuts. It's very haunting, and it makes you wonder about the darker side of life that so many people might be hiding. We used to argue in class if it was affected once you found out a man had written it. Honestly, I don't think it really matters, except that Roddy Doyle is a master of the character voice. The book was believable, and it's one of those texts that sits in the back of my mind, always making me wonder.