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Eureka Street

by Robert McLiam Wilson

4.20 · Rating Details · 2,017 Ratings · 166 Reviews

In a city blasted by years of force and fury, but momentarily stilled by a cease-fire, two unlikely friends search for that most human of needs: love. But of course, a night of lust will do. Jake Jackson and Chuckie Lurgan--one Catholic, one Protestant--navigate their sectarian city and their nonsectarian friendship with wit and style. Chuckie, an unemployed dreamer, stumb ...more

Paperback, 396 pages

Published February 22nd 1999 by Ballantine Books (first published January 1st 1996)

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Sep 15, 2015 Cosimo rated it liked it · review of another edition

“Avevano tutti una storia. Non erano storie brevi, o non avrebbero dovuto esserlo. Avrebbero dovuto diventare lunghi romanzi, splendide narrazioni di ottocento pagine e più, non soltanto le vite delle vittime, ma anche quelle che si erano trovate sul loro cammino, l'intreccio di conoscenze, amicizie e relazioni intime che le legava a coloro che amavano, che conoscevano e da cui erano conosciute, una rete di grandiosa complessità e ricchezza. Che cosa era accaduto? Una cosa molto semplice: storia ...more

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Aug 07, 2009 Lorenzo Berardi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2009, a-my-italian-library, northern-irish

When I was 17 I was going to accept a summer-work offer from a farmer in Londonderry.

I'm not sure to remember properly what I was supposed to pick up in Northern Ireland. Might have been cucumbers. Unfortunately at that time my knowledge of the English language was pretty low, so I thought I would have picked up watermelons (known as "cocomeri" in Italy).
And I was wondering a lot about that task. Perhaps Northern Irish watermelons were smaller than the ones growing up under the warm Mediterran When I was 17 I was going to accept a summer-work offer from a farmer in Londonderry.

I'm not sure to remember properly what I was supposed to pick up in Northern Ireland. Might have been cucumbers. Unfortunately at that time my knowledge of the English language was pretty low, so I thought I would have picked up watermelons (known as "cocomeri" in Italy).
And I was wondering a lot about that task. Perhaps Northern Irish watermelons were smaller than the ones growing up under the warm Mediterranean soil.

I contacted the farmer via mail and he sent me a paper letter, explaining me how much he would have paid me, for how long I would have to work each day and so on. He didn't tell me anything about his religion, but I was sure that, deciding to hire a worker from Italy, he was Catholic. Being a rare example of non-baptized secularist Italian (before knowing the way to say it in English) I think I would have been a delusion for my jobsgiver.

Eventually I decided to don't go to Londonderry. But before of that decision I read all the informations I was able to find about the Sinn Féin party, Ira, The Troubles in Belfast ant the contrasts in Derry. Maybe part of my decision to don't work in Northern Ireland was influenced by what I read and watched on tv. I was a fearful boy.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, after those few weeks in 2000 I totally lost my interest for Northern Ireland. Belfast never attracted me that much and I never considered the city as a realistic option for a vacation.

Thanks to Robert McLiam Wilson (and to Jenny for suggesting his works to me) I'm considering the opportunity of giving Belfast a first chance.

This book is a blinding gem. I can't wonder why Roddy Doyle managed to put so much attention on Dublin with "The Commitments", "The Van" and "The Snapper" while "Eureka Street" didn't do the same for Belfast. In fact I found McLiam Wilson's way of writing so far better than Doyle's one. There are countless hilarious moments of humour in this book and a halo of disillusion and romanticism that makes it irresistible.

Plus, there is an unforgettable, deeply touching and yet extremely raw chapter that is very hard to forget. You will understand what I am writing about. I can confess how my cheeks got wet while reading those pages. And I understood how much McLiam Wilson loves his hometown.

Anyways.
The second part of "Eureka Street" title tells the truth.
This is really "A Novel of Ireland Like No Other".
I wished it was neverending. ...more

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Oct 09, 2015 Piperitapitta rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: autori-irlandesi, letteratura-irlandese, irlanda-ira-guerra

Chi ha annacquato la Guinness?

Un romanzo fatto di due capitoli: intorno a questi (l'undicesimo e il dodicesimo), il nulla.
Un nulla fatto di storielle banali, personaggi macchiettistici, situazioni in bilico fra il paradossale, la commedia romanticoagrodolce alla Nick Hornby e un umorismo inglese - pardon, irlandese - che dovrebbe far ghignare e invece, a malapena, strappa un sorriso; situazioni, quelle che raccontano le storie e le gesta dei due amici Jake e Chuckie (cattolico l'uno e protestant Chi ha annacquato la Guinness?

Un romanzo fatto di due capitoli: intorno a questi (l'undicesimo e il dodicesimo), il nulla.
Un nulla fatto di storielle banali, personaggi macchiettistici, situazioni in bilico fra il paradossale, la commedia romanticoagrodolce alla Nick Hornby e un umorismo inglese - pardon, irlandese - che dovrebbe far ghignare e invece, a malapena, strappa un sorriso; situazioni, quelle che raccontano le storie e le gesta dei due amici Jake e Chuckie (cattolico l'uno e protestante l'altro, ma tu guarda le combinazioni) che si inseriscono nella realtà storica della Belfast dei Troubles, degli attentati, delle fazioni, dell'IRA appena prima del "cessate il fuoco" della seconda metà degli anni Novanta.
E qui scatta l'incazzatura - mi si perdonerà il linguaggio da muratore di West Belfast - perché, mi dico, accidenti a te, Robert McLiam Wilson, sai scrivere due capitoli così belli e così intensi, così drammatici per il loro violento realismo, due capitoli di una forza e di una potenza inaudite, e che fai, me li mimetizzi in mezzo a più di quattrocento pagine di mediocrità e noia assoluta?
Vade retro, McLiam, due stelle sono anche troppe per quello che hai scritto, soprattutto pensando a quello che avresti potuto scrivere: ma chi credevi di essere, il Nick Hornby dei tempi d'oro?
Irlanda del Nerd, mi verrebbe da dire (e questa è una battuta che piacerebbe a a Chuckie. O a Jacke. O forse anche a Robert McLiam Wilson), se non fosse che siamo fermi ad appena un attimo prima: ma Chuckie e Jacke sono proprio due Nerd prima dell'avvento dell'era digitale, e il livello delle battute e dell'ironia è più o meno questo, ahimè.
Peccato, perché a Belfast c'è il mare.
Non l'avevo mai pensato, e McLiam Wilson me l'ha fatto capire, come nessuno mai, nelle belle parole dedicate alla sua città.
Poi, però, l'aria si fece pastosa, densa come melassa (lo dice persino lui), proprio niente a che vedere con lo spendore di una pinta di Guiness appena spillata, con l'emozione di un tramonto sul mare irlandese; e la sensazione di aver perso del tempo, fra situazioni grottesche e finali multipli telefonati (no, pure la doppia svolta gay no, per favore!), è troppo forte.
Che poi io preferisco le Lambic, o le Rosse, se proprio devo confessarlo.
...more

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Feb 03, 2011 Bondama rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Having lived in Ireland for over 17 years, I've always made a point of reading virtually any book by either a well known or new writer from this country. Having said this, "Eureka Street" was recommended to me by a Polish friend.. (Thanks, Mac)

This book is about love - it's a love song written to the greyest, wettest, dampest, most depressing city I've ever seen. Robert Wilson McLiam was, of course, "bred and buttered" in Belfast - to use an old Irish expression. This book is set in 1996, just a Having lived in Ireland for over 17 years, I've always made a point of reading virtually any book by either a well known or new writer from this country. Having said this, "Eureka Street" was recommended to me by a Polish friend.. (Thanks, Mac)

This book is about love - it's a love song written to the greyest, wettest, dampest, most depressing city I've ever seen. Robert Wilson McLiam was, of course, "bred and buttered" in Belfast - to use an old Irish expression. This book is set in 1996, just at the tail end of the last edition of the "Troubles", as they are called over in this perplexing, totally unique country (Northern Ireland.) The two main characters have both reached the age of thirty, and, as the book begins, are realizing that they've accomplished little to nothing in their lives - the way they go about changing their lives is the secret of this wonderful, incredible book.

Jake Jackson is a lapsed Catholic - He has survived what was apparently a horrific childhood, to be educated beyond his "station," only to find that the only thing he's truly good at is fighting. He tends to fall in love two to three times a day, primarily with lamentable results. Jake is the narrator of this unique, hilarious book.

The outstanding character of "Eureka Street" is Chuckie Lurgan, Jake's best friend. Fat and pale, he grew up in his Methodist home, raised by his mother - his father took off long ago. After his thirtieth birthday, Chuckie makes a list of his accomplishments, and decides to get rich. In the course of the book, not only does he succeed, but he manages to have Max, a lovely American girl, fall in love with him. Chuckie's hilarious - so well drawn, and so well described --- I've met dozens of "Chuckies" in the North of Ireland myself.

I can't think of another book that I've read recently where the author is so deeply in love with the culture and the people of a city. McLiam writes absolutely beautifully - and it's the kind of beauty that sneaks up on the reader. To those of you who have not seen Belfast, it's a miracle of a book, it truly is.

"Eureka Street" is such a wonderful read -- I couldn't think of anyone I know who wouldn't completely enjoy it. McLiam does a particularly good job in separating the various groups because believe me, the people in the North of Ireland suffer from a unique insanity -- and I don't think it will ever change.

The peace is still holding up in the North, and it's a blooming miracle that it is. Almost as much of a miracle as "Eureka Street" itself. ...more

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Aug 26, 2013 Susan Johnson rated it it was amazing

"All stories are love stories" is the first sentence of this book. It's not a love story in the traditional sense but a delicious tribute to the city of Belfast. In Chapter 10, McClaim Wilson writes, "cities are the meeting places of stories" and that is exactly what this book is about.

Set in the mid 1990's, when the "troubles" of Norther Ireland were at a fevered pitch, Jake, a rough and tumble Catholic, and Chuckie, a fat Protestant boy with big dreams, are friends. As they grope their way t ...more

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Mar 16, 2008 Am rated it it was amazing

The title couldn't be more precise, as this is truly a depiction of contemporary Belfast that is like no other (as far as I know...). It lacks sentimentality to the point where terrorist bombings are framed by cynical love scenes. A refreshingly, humanly complex treatment of politics on an individual level.

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Mar 03, 2012 Stacy rated it liked it

I loved this book when I started reading it. The first half is incredibly funny (often laugh-out-loud hysterical), with a clear voice that pulls you along effortlessly. It satirizes The Troubles in Northern Ireland brilliantly. But after reaching the half-way point (chapter 11 -- a really moving stand alone story, which by itself is worth reading this book for), it goes downhill immediately. Nothing happens, the jokes become more predictable (i.e. didn't we just read all this?), and everything i ...more

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Aug 17, 2013 Barbara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: irish-books, literary-fiction, around-the-world, on-my-shelves, 2013-reads

I can't say enough about this book. There's a great review by Allan posted last week. Allan grew up in Northern Ireland and lives in Belfast. I come to this book as an outsider, but someone who has visited Northern Ireland half a dozen times, starting back during the height of The Troubles.
MacLiam Wilson, the author, loves this city and it comes through constantly in the book. And he loves the people of Belfast. This is from the last page of the book : "The mountain looks flat and grand in the ...more

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Sep 03, 2014 Paolo Gianoglio rated it liked it · review of another edition

Fino a oltre metà libro ho letto con senso di attesa. La storia stentava a decollare, e per quanto le vicende dei protagonisti fossero divertenti, non era chiaro quale fosse la direzione.
A pagina 227 inizia il capitolo forse scritto meglio di tutto il libro, tragico e al tempo stesso impregnato di amara e malinconica ironia. La vicenda collettiva della storia irlandese irrompe in un contesto che fino a quel punto era caratterizzato solo da piccole storie personali. Senza la pretesa di voler racc
Fino a oltre metà libro ho letto con senso di attesa. La storia stentava a decollare, e per quanto le vicende dei protagonisti fossero divertenti, non era chiaro quale fosse la direzione.
A pagina 227 inizia il capitolo forse scritto meglio di tutto il libro, tragico e al tempo stesso impregnato di amara e malinconica ironia. La vicenda collettiva della storia irlandese irrompe in un contesto che fino a quel punto era caratterizzato solo da piccole storie personali. Senza la pretesa di voler raccontare i problemi irlandesi, Wilson cerca di inserire il suo microcosmo in un macrocosmo complesso, pieno di contraddizioni, che non possono non influenzare il vivere quotidiano delle persone, anche di quelle che rifiutano di prendere posizione o cercano – senza riuscirci – di lasciare da parte politica e violenza.
Non so se l’operazione sia pienamente riuscita. Quello di cui bisogna dare atto a Wilson è di aver scritto un libro divertente, con molte trovate originali e personaggi singolari: Chuckie mi ricorda una versione rivisitata e meno svagata di Chance the Gardener di Kosinsky, è un personaggio a cui non ci si può non affezionare; la vicenda della madre di Chance arriva inaspettata e suscita ilarità e tenerezza; il mistero di OAG attraversa l’intera storia e cresce di intensità fino all’inaspettata conclusione. In un contesto collettivo così ricco di personaggi e storie minime forse in alcuni passi si insinua un po’ di stanchezza, si perde di vista il contesto principale, ma è un peccato veniale, perdonabile. A mio avviso il personaggio di Jake è quello meno convincente, un po’ troppo buono, un po’ troppo eroe scapestrato. Forse avrebbe funzionato meglio in un contesto cinematografico, ma sulla carta a tratti risulta stucchevole. Last, but not least, questo libro è un’occasione per ricordarsi che fino a 20 anni fa, a pochi passi da noi, gente “come noi” (ovvero cosiddetti occidentali civili) si ammazzava per questioni religiose. A volte uno sguardo alla storia, anche mediata da un romanzo che non pretende di ricostruire i fatti storici, aiuta a comprendere e interpretare meglio il mondo in cui viviamo…
...more

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Nov 13, 2010 Aurora added it

Sono stata a Belfast una sola volta, anzi due, in meno di una settimana. Era il 1997: ho visto solo il porto e la stazione.
L'impressione che ne ho ancora ora è di una città messa lì per caso, che cozza contro l'immagine di Dublino e di altre città irlandesi e nello stesso tempo che ricorda dannatamente Londra e il suo stile vittoriano.
Dovevo leggere questo libro per buttare alle ortiche quella strana e complessa sensazione, che non so neanche raccontare.
E' un libro bello, lungo, ma mai pesante, Sono stata a Belfast una sola volta, anzi due, in meno di una settimana. Era il 1997: ho visto solo il porto e la stazione.
L'impressione che ne ho ancora ora è di una città messa lì per caso, che cozza contro l'immagine di Dublino e di altre città irlandesi e nello stesso tempo che ricorda dannatamente Londra e il suo stile vittoriano.
Dovevo leggere questo libro per buttare alle ortiche quella strana e complessa sensazione, che non so neanche raccontare.
E' un libro bello, lungo, ma mai pesante, complesso, articolato, che mischia stili narrativi diversi e un po' ti ingloba e un po' ti fa sentire fuori posto.
Ci sono pagine assolutamente deliranti e passionate (non appassionate, passionate), che ti danno uno schiaffo e ti offrono un biglietto gratis per quella città complicata e fragile.
E tutto il resto della storia forse passa in secondo piano, succhiato dalla storia, dalla vicenda, dal contorno. E così poi ti trovi pieno di domande e di dubbi, con qualche risposta e la voglia dannata di tornare a vedere quel porto, quella stazione, quelle vie. Adesso che sai che c'è di più, molto di più, ci sono cuori, vite, donne e uomini, ragazzini, soldi, birre e gatti vagabondi. e ti sconvolgi perché quella volta non ci avevi neanche fatto caso al fatto che ti fossero sembrate assenti.
Il miglior libro per concludere un anno e iniziarne uno nuovo.

"Che cielo incredibile: una distesa di nuvole metropolitane imbottite di polvere e di smog e un'aria torbida come un tè non filtrato. A mezzogiorno ero uscito a comprarmi le sigarette ed ero rimasto sorpreso da tutta quella gente in movimento, a piedi o in macchina indaffarata o tranquillamente a passeggio.
Sono su di giri. Questa sera questo dolcissimo mondo mi fa venire voglia di stendermi nudo sul letto. Da qualche parte c'è una radio accesa e un uomo che sta leggendo la lettera di una donna che dice di avere il cuore in pezzi, imprigionato in un blocco di ghiaccio. Poi lui mette su una canzone che lei adora e la semplicità e la tenerezza di un simile gesto mi sciolgono il cuore.
Ieri, mi ha semplicemente sorriso, si è scostata una ciocca di capelli dagli occhi e mi ha dato un bacio, nient'altro.
E oggi il mondo è un mondo nuovo, grandioso, fantastico, come una favola che da piccolo nessuno ti ha mai raccontato. E questa sera il cielo è davvero incredibile."

@BC.com: http://auro.bookcrossing.com/journal/...

...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Claire rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I loved this book. I loved Jake Jackson and Chuckie Lurgan more than I've loved any other fictional characters in a while. I loved RMW's beautiful and sharp and inventive prose. I loved the story itself and the beautiful and conflicting insight into Belfast and the insider's take on sectarianism.

There is one chapter that contains much more violence (a bombing) than the rest of the novel and because of that, I was actually breathless and out of sorts for a while after I read it- not entirely bec ...more

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Sep 20, 2015 Leggendolibri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Una svolta di vita per una città, per una comunità e per dei semplici uomini. A volte la cosa più semplice è imparare a chiamare le cose per quello che sono. Veramente un bel libro

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Nov 24, 2014 Bruno rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporanea, favourites, uk

Divertente, ironico, appassionato, ma soprattutto brutale. Le aspettative che avevo accumulato da anni non sono state deluse. "Tutte le storie sono storie d'amore." E questa è la storia d'amore tra l'autore e Belfast. Il capitolo 10 è un vero inno alla città!

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Mar 21, 2014 Veronica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Jake, trentenne cattolico, dal passato burrascoso e violento addolcito dalla presenza dei genitori adottivi, è uno spiantato che non sa tenersi un lavoro e una donna, senza peli sulla lingua e dal cazzotto facile.
Chuckie, grasso sfigato protestante, ha un sogno: fare una barcata di soldi. E ci riuscirà grazie alla sua stramba inventiva, dei metodi non troppo leciti e un tocco di fortuna che contribuirà a rivoluzionargli la vita.
"Eureka street", terzo romanzo di Robert McLiam Wilson, ha come tem Jake, trentenne cattolico, dal passato burrascoso e violento addolcito dalla presenza dei genitori adottivi, è uno spiantato che non sa tenersi un lavoro e una donna, senza peli sulla lingua e dal cazzotto facile.
Chuckie, grasso sfigato protestante, ha un sogno: fare una barcata di soldi. E ci riuscirà grazie alla sua stramba inventiva, dei metodi non troppo leciti e un tocco di fortuna che contribuirà a rivoluzionargli la vita.
"Eureka street", terzo romanzo di Robert McLiam Wilson, ha come tema principale la vita di questi due ragazzi irlandesi, eppure a ben vedere non è Jake il protagonista di questa storia e non lo è neanche Chuckie. La vera protagonista è Belfast, tant' è vero che l'intero romanzo potrebbe considerarsi un'ode a questa città così tristemente nota per la violenza dei suoi attentati, per la folle guerra tra cattolici e protestanti.
McLiam Wilson dedica alla descrizione della crudeltà delle esplosioni poche, ma intense pagine: seguiamo con lo sguardo una bella ragazza dai capelli ribelli, ne spiamo i pensieri, il gioioso amore, la scoppiettante sensualità appena sbocciata. E poi l'esplosione. E dell'incanto e la tenerezza di quei pensieri non rimane che una macabra scena di corpi dilaniati.
Wilson ci racconta la sua Belfast con lo sguardo gelido di una cinepresa che indugia spietatamente sui resti dei morti, l'orribile spettacolo della vita profanata avvelena la città, la violenta, la priva dei suoi figli, di quelle storie che sarebbero diventati lunghi romanzi e a cui si è invece imposta un'assurda fine, come una frase lasciata a metà.
E chi si salva ha per sempre l'anima inquinata da ciò che gli occhi hanno visto:
"Quella notte tutti furono accomunati da un singolare fenomeno: mentre bevevano una tazza di caffè, si lavavano i denti, guardavano un film o chiudevano a casa la porta di casa, pensarono Com'è strano questo gesto dopo quello che ho visto."
Ma il registro realista non è quello predominante; si tratta di una scrittura in bilico tra l'ironico e il sarcastico specie quando si mette in luce quanto sia ridicolo e privo di senso l'odio di entrambe le parti coinvolte.
Le pagine di questo romanzo ci raccontano la miseria di Belfast, la violenza a cui gli abitanti della città quasi si assuefanno non riuscendo più a vedere i drammatici contrasti con la stessa incredulità di chi li vede da fuori:
"La cosa drammatica è che i nordirlandesi protestanti (scozzesi) pensano di essere uguali ai cittadini britannici, mentre i nordirlandesi cattolici (irlandesi) pensano di essere uguali agli altri irlandesi, i cittadini dell'Eire. La cosa ridicola è che ogni sostanziale differenza tra protestanti e cattolici è svanita da un pezzo e i nordirlandesi ormai, cattolici e protestanti che siano, sono soltanto nordirlandesi (e quindi né scozzesi né irlandesi). Il mondo ne è consapevole e di conseguenza assiste perplesso a tanta ostinata violenza fratricida, ma la gente di queste parti non riesce proprio a capirlo."
Mi piace lo sguardo innamorato di Wilson per la sua Belfast e per ciascuna delle vite che la popolano: la città è crocevia di storie e "anche la persona più noiosa e ordinaria è un racconto che non teme il confronto con la trama più bella e più ricca di Tolstoj."
La copertina dell'edizione di cui sono in possesso definisce pomposamente Eureka street come "un grande capolavoro". Ebbene, Eureka street non è un capolavoro...ha le sue evidenti pecche: a volte si crogiola nel buonismo di alcuni atti eroici dei suoi protagonisti e il finale risulta essere prevedibile già dalla metà del romanzo. Ma vale comunque la pena di intraprendere la lettura per via della piacevole scrittura e soprattutto per i personaggi che rimangono nel cuore e a cui facilmente ci si affeziona.
La tolleranza della maggior parte degli abitanti di Belfast non fa notizia, ma c'è. È silenziosa, ma respira nelle vite di tante semplici e affascinanti esistenze delle quali Eureka street vuole essere testimonianza. ...more

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Jan 06, 2009 Rain rated it it was amazing

Tightly written, fast-paced, and compelling.

I've read numerous books involving the troubles in Northern Ireland and I am usually left feeling cold and despondent. There is nothing wrong with that as the subject is, well, it conjures up a plethora of emotions. What's different about this book is that the "troubles" rage throughout yet, for the most part, just beneath the surface. This is a human story above all else told by characters who live with the reality of war on a daily basis and the (mo ...more

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Nov 14, 2009 Layla Bing rated it it was amazing

Eureka Street is a lot of things. It is a story about growing up. Uncharacteristic in that it's main characters are aged 30 instead of 18, it is nonetheless the story of two boys learning how to live with themselves and finding out what really matters in life. It is a story about identity in a setting in which the labels by which we identify ourselves-- Catholic, Protestant, English, Irish, liberal, conservative-- can also condemn us to death. But even more than being a story about two men growi Eureka Street is a lot of things. It is a story about growing up. Uncharacteristic in that it's main characters are aged 30 instead of 18, it is nonetheless the story of two boys learning how to live with themselves and finding out what really matters in life. It is a story about identity in a setting in which the labels by which we identify ourselves-- Catholic, Protestant, English, Irish, liberal, conservative-- can also condemn us to death. But even more than being a story about two men growing up, it is the story of an entire city--Belfast-- learning to grow up and deal with itself as a single entity, and not as a score of factitious parts that refuse to be reconciled. In Eureka Street, the city of Belfast mirrors the human being that has to learn to come to terms with all of its various parts (one is reminded of Harry Haller's internal struggle in Hesse's Steppenwolf: A Novel). It is also a city that must learn to take itself less seriously, a theme which is constantly echoed throughout the book (OTG, anyone?). More than that though, Eureka Street is a story about acceptance and forgiveness: accepting our foibles and flaws, the individualities and idiosyncrasies that make us human, and forgiving them, forgiving ourselves and then forgiving everyone else for being human too. Ultimately, it's a story about love.

Wilson does for Belfast in Eureka Street what China Mieville did for the fictional New Crobuzon in Perdido Street Station: he brings it to life, makes it a tangible entity that the reader can almost reach out and touch. Of course we have all already heard of Belfast, we know it is a real place-- we've seen it on TV and in documentaries. We've seen the horror, the wreckage, the shattered lives and shattered bodies of a city torn by violence and religous-political unrest. We've seen the streets made famous over night for the simple fact of their no longer existing. But that isn't Belfast. It's a piece of it, yes, but not all of it, not close. Wilson's prose doesn't pull any punches: he shows us the very worst of Belfast. But he also shows us the best. Juxtaposed with the devastation, we are shown the beauty. Inserted into the static frames of horror that we have grown accustomed to associate with Belfast, are the details that bring it into focus as a moving picture, as a city in its own right-- complete with love, heartache, tenderness, disappointment, remorse, all the little human dramas that comprise our lives' narrative-- and not just an amalgamation of ruined buildings and ruined lives. We see why people continued to live in Belfast despite the constant danger to their lives; we see why people continue to live at all.

Jake Jackson and Chuckie Lurgan are both looking for something: that proverbial purpose in life, something to fill the emptiness. Both nearing their 30's, both regretting the time wasted drowned in alcohol, both unsatisfied with their lots but unsure of how to go about fixing their respective dilemmas. They know what they're looking for. Jake is looking for love. Chuckie is looking for money. Eureka Street is the story of their quests for these respective holy grails, all set against the backdrop of Belfast in the days right before the IRA ceasefire. The theme of disatisfaction is mirrored in almost all of the minor characters-- we get the sense that Belfast is a city full of people looking for something. A city in which some of these seekers have turned to terrorism and violence to fill the void. Unlike the protagonists of many of the stories set during this time period in Ireland, neither of our main characters have been personally affected by the Troubles. Instead, Eureka Street is the story of life going on, of people continuing to try and eke out a normal existence in an extraordinary time. It's touching, poignant, and importantly, it feels true. I'm not at all doing justice to this story line or its characters; but believe me you will find yourself loving them both and laughing at loud at some of the antics they get up to.

I feel compelled to note that Wilson's writing is, at times, a bit harsh toward Americans. He propounds a number of popular stereotypes about American ignorance of foreign affairs and the level of violence that was prevalent in American cities at the time. In one scene set in New York protagonist Chuckie Lurgan is mugged twice in under five minutes. In another he satirizes the suppossedly hard-nosed American businessmen who were so ignorant of Irish and English history that they are pathetically easily bamboozled by Lurgan's inept assumption of different Irish personae into giving him their money for investment in his hare-brained, yet surprisingly lucrative schemes. It paints an altogether not very kind picture of capitalism. At first I was taken aback, and confused by the irony with which an author who has such obvious contempt for the way in which Americans misunderstand the Irish, and particularly the Northern Irish freedom fighter, could be so woefully unfair to the average New Yorker-- another character whose public image is filtered almost entirely through the media. However the more I read, the more I realized that Wilson's critiques, though unfailingly harsh, were not untrue. Exaggerated? Maybe. Stereotypical? Perhaps. But not fundamentally misinterpreted. It was hard to read and not want to jump to my country's defense, but if I'm being honest with myself, I have to admit that he is pretty much dead on in some instances, and that is really sad. I guess it really takes an outsider to see us for what we really are. Is Wilson's story cruel to Americans? Yes. But is it unfair? Maybe not.

In a line that I think sums up to me what a good deal of this book is about, the protagonist Jake says: "We're talking about split beer, we're talking about the end of the world." In this novel, Wilson is talking about everything and nothing. The little things that make us tick and the huge truths that govern life. And he is also talking about the tiny things, the arbitrary and perceived differences that are blown up into the biggest deals, the fights, the wars, the unrelenting prejudices based on insubstantial foundations-- congruous and pointless as spilled beer. It's a line that is symbolic of the ambitious scope of the novel, and also its desire to put things back in their place, to recognize everything for what it truly is, and to tell the honest, unedited, unabashed truth. Is it perfect? No. But that's life. It's the realest book I've read in a long time. It's the best book I've read in a long time. ...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Simon Mcleish rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Originally published on my blog here in October 2001.

We had just moved to London from Northern Ireland when we saw the TV adaptation of this novel; we were entranced by the way in which it seemed to encapsulate so much of the character of the country and the bitter struggle fought over it. Against an atmospheric soundtrack, a moving story full of black humour was very well acted.

Soundtrack and actors are obviously missing, but in all other ways this description holds for the original novel as we ...more

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Nov 22, 2013 Rita Monticelli rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: autori-britannici-e-irlandesi, storie-di-vita

Scroll down for the English version.

Mi è piaciuto solo a metà

Che Robert McLiam Wilson sappia scrivere bene è indubbio. Riesce a coinvolgerti completamente nella lettura. Purtroppo questo ha l'effetto di trasmetterti sia gli aspetti positivi che quelli negativi di ciò che leggi. L'immedesimazione è tale che, quando ti viene raccontato nei minimi dettagli ciò che accade ai corpi delle vittime di un attentato, la cosa ti disturba parecchio. Allo stesso modo non riesci a non considerare poco credib ...more

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Jul 28, 2015 Elena rated it it was amazing

Shelves: great-books

I joined Goodreads after a bad experience with a collection of loosely tied short stories that shall remain nameless. That book hit me over the head with a bat, kicked me in the gut, drove over me and dropped what was left in a frozen river from a tall bridge. It was a formative experience, but at the moment I hated it so much -so much- fiercely, with passion. And on top of that I thought it was pretty shitty; the proportion quality/effect it had on me was completely off. So I told myself never I joined Goodreads after a bad experience with a collection of loosely tied short stories that shall remain nameless. That book hit me over the head with a bat, kicked me in the gut, drove over me and dropped what was left in a frozen river from a tall bridge. It was a formative experience, but at the moment I hated it so much -so much- fiercely, with passion. And on top of that I thought it was pretty shitty; the proportion quality/effect it had on me was completely off. So I told myself never again: never again to pick up a book based on titles, covers and blurbs. Viva goodreads and previous opinions. The problem of that being, I would have missed this book too.

Curiously, my love for Eureka Street didn't bloom overnight. In fact, after finishing it, I thought it was good enough, but the plot is not exactly believable and I was expecting it to look cheap in hindsight. What happened, instead, is that it became insidiously part of the books that I read just because. And the BBC Northern Ireland mini-series was great too. It's available on youtube, if anyone is interested. So I picked up a soft cover edition whose paper had seen more than a little rain for 2 euros in a half open-air second hand bookstore on the corner of my hostal in Berlin and I powered through the german feeling I was missing perhaps 30% percent of the book (as I probably did). This was not meant to be a life companion, by any means. So why? And how can I have it again?

I'm going to tell you what this is about, thought: it's about men and women hitting their thirties, looking around, realising that they have somehow lost their footing after leaving college, and building a life they can go on with. It's about coming out of the holes we find ourselves into. It's a feel good book; read only the first chapter and the last, and it'll be more than obvious. It deals with anger, poverty, difference, missed chances and risks taken that impossibly payed off. Look at the relationships: all of them are about difference, being happy with it, accepting it, reconciliation, hope; they mimic Ireland's political situation, they are based on forgiveness, and they have this bright tomorrow ahead of them and I'm rooting for them all, because life is not about being right or being wrong; it's not even about agreeing: it's about doing your best and letting others do theirs. ...more

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Aug 21, 2007 Katherine rated it liked it

The author does a very good job of placing the reader right in the middle of 1990s wartorn Belfast. His book is full of memorable characters with Dickensian names who get into hilarious and sometimes tragic predicaments. A money-making scheme involving giant dildos is truly brilliant (why didn't I think of that?!?). I was riveted by (and I reread twice) the chapter describing in excrutiatingly grotesque detail the scene of a tiny sandwich shop filled with patrons that gets blown up by a 100 poun ...more

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Apr 20, 2015 OstinatoLettore rated it really liked it

Shelves: progetto52

Eureka Street di Robert McLiam Wilson

Definisci Intuito
Quel propagarsi inarrestabile di una certezza.

Così come è vero che da cosa nasce cosa, è altrettanto provato che se leggi una bella storia la successiva sarà ancora meglio.

Non c'è nella letteratura contemporanea un incipit più potente de:

"Tutte le storie sono storie d'amore"

È l'inizio del Romanzo di Robert McLiam Wilson - Eureka Street, e dura esattamente 27 pagine; il resto è un crescendo di personaggi, situazioni, vibrazioni, contrasti, ...more

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Feb 27, 2015 Mary Lou rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: irish

Having been high on my TBR list for quite a while, I'm now feeling a little disappointed with this book. Well written, yes, insightful, yes, amusing, yes. So what went wrong? About a third of the way in, the one liners were becoming wearisome. When I was feeling the need of a story, suddenly one emerged, but 100 pages on it was becoming tiresome too.

Or maybe I can just see myself in the '90s, just like Jake, turning off the radio when the local news bulletin came on. Fair criticism of us it is t ...more

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Nov 18, 2008 K rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Somewhere in South Belfast, Robert McLiam Wilson tells the story of a single man in his early thirties dealing with dating and segregation, poetry and war, family and violence, with the ghost of Van Morrison and the smell of cheap beer in the background. This is an ode to Belfast The Great and the music of whatever floats through your mind when the ideological fight is not what you want for your life. Poetry Street has never been closer to his lyricism.

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Jun 29, 2014 Mark Jamison rated it really liked it

Don't know how I stumbled upon this novel--maybe one of those pop-up recommendations from Good Reads?--but I'm really glad I did. I'm not particularly interested in Northern Ireland, but I am interested in great writing, and this is great writing. I can't remember the last time I've been so moved by the VOICE in a novel. It's impossible not to fall in love with first-person Jake.

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May 18, 2014 Nicola rated it really liked it

Being Northern Irish, I've always kept an eye out for books that are set here and have read quite a few. I'm not quite sure what I expected from this book but I know my expectations were exceeded. The Belfast in this story feels real! It feels like the Belfast I know. It captures Northern Irish politics, 'The Troubles' and the people here in a way that many other books just fail to do. The story itself is pretty basic when it's stripped down, but the characters are well written and you quickly b ...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Angie Maniscalco rated it it was amazing

I loved this book! It was assigned reading in college and I was dreading it. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. The characters lives are so interesting....it leaves you wanting more. A great read!!

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Dec 20, 2014 Mary Crawford rated it liked it

The descriptions of Belfast in the 90s was very appealing with warm memories of Laverys. I laughed out loud about Chuckie's mum. Apart from that I found this hard going with brief bits of respite.

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Dec 30, 2008 Clara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: recommended, infinite-rereadables, influences

One of my all time favourites. Gut-wrenching, laugh-out-loud, crazy, true, wonderful book.

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Jun 07, 2007 Patricia rated it it was ok

About Belfast in the 1990s. Beautiful descriptions, some good characters.

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Oct 17, 2007 Summer rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Men who like reading

A laugh outloud story of men in Ireland. One I need to read again.

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About Robert McLiam Wilson

Robert McLiam Wilson was born in Belfast on 24 February 1966 and studied English at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He is the author of the novels Ripley Bogle (1989), winner of the Hughes Prize,a Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Irish Book Award and the Betty Trask Prize; Manfred's Pain (1992); and Eureka Street (1996), winner of the Belfast Arts Award for Literature. He is also the auth ...more

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