⇒ Libro Free Eureka Street Robert McLiam Wilson 9780099284451 Books

Eureka Street Robert McLiam Wilson 9780099284451 Books

Download As PDF : Eureka Street Robert McLiam Wilson 9780099284451 Books

Eureka Street Robert McLiam Wilson 9780099284451 Books

A great big, boisterous, arms-wide-open novel that welcomes all comers and practically sizzles with the energy of Belfast and a group of life-long friends on the move from practically nothing to pretty certainly something. Anyone who's spent time on the Emerald Isle knows that Belfast is the locus of urban energy (no disrespect to Dublin, or even Cork, both places that I love dearly), the only Irish city with industrial grit and a manufacturing background that carries its edginess on its sleeve. The place thrums with drink and sex and fashion, of a come-hither sort, and possibility and danger and a connection equally intense to its interior and its exterior. One doesn't float through Belfast, it demands your attention and your vigilance, for which it rewards you greatly.

All this and more is deftly captured by Wilson in his heartfelt, if rather simple tale of friends Chuckie and Jake, et al, as they grow into well-earned and surprisingly thoughtful adulthood, surrounded by the city that so defines their physical and psychological reality. Wilson's take on America is interesting, if a bit awkward, and Eureka Street as a novel is much broader than deep, but this is a great, entertaining read in the tradition of great Irish entertaining reads.


Tags : Eureka Street [Robert McLiam Wilson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers.,Robert McLiam Wilson,Eureka Street,Vintage,0099284456,mon0000282134,Fiction,General,Modern fiction

Eureka Street Robert McLiam Wilson 9780099284451 Books Reviews

Before I visited Belfast for the first time, I felt obligated to know something about the city. This book was mentioned a couple of times while I was there - especially the names of the pubs author sent his characters to. The story is more or less a collection of wild fantasies of ordinary people mixed with the author's personal opinions about the modern Northern Ireland society, the colonialist English and the celebrity-crazy aspect of America. The style of writing changes from time to time and point-of-views keep shifting - it is a bit dizzying read, but it is difficult to stop reading this book once you begin.At times,he is genuinely, funny.
Charming, great wry humor. Not much of a story but I didn't care.
I had very low expectations even with the good reviews of this book and it exceeded them all. There really is no way to categorize it. I will be recommending it to all my friends and family that read, I cannot say enough good things about it!
Have not quite finished this book yet but loving it. It is very well written. Love the language. I particularly like books about other cultures and being Irish this one intrigued me and has not disappointed. It was selected for my book club and everyone in it has had nothing but good things to say about it. I understand that this is not the book that he is most known for so we are looking forward to reading another of his books.
A very good story about contemporary Ireland and Belfast. There are all the ingredients to make it a various and pleasant book love, politics, feelings, adventures and very peculiar characters.
The plot mainly follows the events happening to two friends. The first Chuckie is a protestant boy from the proletarian area of the city who turning thirty decides that it is time to earn some money. The second Jake is a Catholic boy about the same age of Chuckie, a very critic and direct character. His frankness probably is at the base of his difficulties in finding girls to date. Through the eyes of these two friends the reader is brought in a city pulsating with life but also with violence, terror and death. Many characters appear in different part of the novel and their lives, their hopes, their feelings, their past and present are so well described that they come to life in the reader's mind.
I can see a conceptual division of the plot in two parts. The first one ending with the beautiful description of Belfast by night contained in chapter 10 and the other starting with the terrible description of the seen of an explosion contained in the next chapter. The first part of the book is lighter while in the second part death, although not directly touching the main characters, hovers on the plot. The consequences of the political hate are shown in all their brutality and horror. The armed factions are described as mere rascals who paradoxically kill Irish people in order to free Ireland.
Throughout the story emerges a desire of peace, coming from the great majority of the people, well symbolised by the strong friendship between the Catholic Jake and the protestant Chuckie.
Eureka Street is a superficial novel .It never cuts that deep.No one is likely to conclude Wilson is a master storyteller .The plot is a a bit of an afterthought and the back stories he gives to his characters range from implausible to ridiculous .What comes as a surprise is that it is also a very good novel.

It is set in Belfast in 1994.The city's industrial base is dead.The troubles are not over but have wound down.A semblance of normalcy grips the city and aid money is poring in to support any number of dubious reconstruction projects.The core of the novel centers around "Protestant " Chuckie and his friend "Catholic " Jake. That alone should induce fear and trembling in most readers.Have no fear! This is not a novel where young proletarians overcome their differences by bonding through class solidarity.Nor is it about idealistic youths who see the folly of tribalism and become Alliance Party activists.It is definitely not an Irish version of My Beautiful Launderette.What brings these two together is their lacks .They aren't interested in religion and adhere to no political ideology.So tribal and cult solidarity don't compel them .Both are rather sleazy types who are basically good hearted,yobs with hearts of gold.Through their adventures , Wilson give us a compelling and convincing portrait of a slice of Belfast life at a point in time.

Part of what makes this book a pleasure to read is that it is very funny.Strictly speaking it is not a comedy .There is tragedy, pathos and romance. Wilson's strong suit is comedy.He is a deft satirist who is very deliberate in picking his targets.His contempt for those who rationalize murder and mayhem shines through the book and makes me reconsider my calling this a superficial novel .Wilson shows both more humor and more sense then many a better writer.
A great big, boisterous, arms-wide-open novel that welcomes all comers and practically sizzles with the energy of Belfast and a group of life-long friends on the move from practically nothing to pretty certainly something. Anyone who's spent time on the Emerald Isle knows that Belfast is the locus of urban energy (no disrespect to Dublin, or even Cork, both places that I love dearly), the only Irish city with industrial grit and a manufacturing background that carries its edginess on its sleeve. The place thrums with drink and sex and fashion, of a come-hither sort, and possibility and danger and a connection equally intense to its interior and its exterior. One doesn't float through Belfast, it demands your attention and your vigilance, for which it rewards you greatly.

All this and more is deftly captured by Wilson in his heartfelt, if rather simple tale of friends Chuckie and Jake, et al, as they grow into well-earned and surprisingly thoughtful adulthood, surrounded by the city that so defines their physical and psychological reality. Wilson's take on America is interesting, if a bit awkward, and Eureka Street as a novel is much broader than deep, but this is a great, entertaining read in the tradition of great Irish entertaining reads.