My rating:

add to my books

Eureka Street

by Robert McLiam Wilson

4.29 · rating details · 612 ratings · 84 reviews

"FINE OLD COUNTRY, RECENTLY PARTITIONED. IN NEED OF MINOR POLITICAL REPAIR. PRICED FOR QUICK SALE." Now available in paperback, Robert McLiam Wilson's clever and irreverent novel Eureka Street is a conflicted yet loving hymn to the "yobs and snobs" of his native Belfast, a city determined to survive the worst it can do to itself. In the lull between cea...more

Paperback, 396 pages

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

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Best Irish Literature

86th out of 212 books — 273 voters

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Best Irish Books

43rd out of 104 books — 39 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 895)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 16, 2008

Am rated it

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.

like 3 likes

· see review

Jan 06, 2009

Rain rated it

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 ...more

like 1 like

· see review

Aug 21, 2007

Katherine rated 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 p...more

like 1 like

· see review

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, ...moreSono 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.</p>

"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/234...

(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Mar 25, 2009

Tahleen rated it

Shelves: irish-literature

I did really like this book, one of my favorites from my Irish lit class. It had a lot of humor and there were times when I laughed out loud (I love his cat...), plus he was great at description and (I thought) creating characters you liked in spite of yourself. But there are times when I felt like the author was trying waaaaaay too hard. Like, I just wanted to be like *PUKE*. Notably the last sentence of the book, which is a shame... but oh well.

Another thing I really liked was the ...more

· see review

Dec 30, 2008

Clara rated it

Shelves: infinite-rereadables, influences, recommended

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

like 1 like

· see review

Nov 14, 2009

Danielle Arostegui rated it

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...moreEureka 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.(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Apr 22, 2011

Sarah rated it

· review of another edition

It's the switching of narrative, the change of perspective, and how the very first line summarizes the novel: "All stories are love stories." This is a love story, no doubt, about Belfast. I can relate to being in love with one's hometown. Most people are blind to the beauty surrounding them everyday, but not the people in this book. Especially Jake - who I have decided is the narrator of the chapters in the middle, expressing how gorgeous Belfast and its citizens really are. Also, it ...more

· see review

Oct 17, 2007

Summer rated it

Recommends it for: Men who like reading

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

like 1 like

· see review

Jun 07, 2007

Patricia rated it

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

like 1 like

· see review

Aug 05, 2011

Jerica Mercado rated it

Eureka Street is not a perfect novel, nor is it a book for the faint of heart. Wilson’s prose is rough at times and the characters are often crude. The novel is much like its hero, Jake; on the surface it appears rough and gritty, but underneath that hard exterior there is tenderness, love. Both character and novel are diamonds in the rough, so to speak. Wilson is not a Dickens or a Hawthorne or a Hemmingway, but in Eureka Street he has crafted a novel that is wickedly satirical and painfull...more

· see review

Sep 04, 2008

Pierce rated it

(This novel is just called "Eureka Street" in this country. That tagline is ridiculous.)

There's is a different kind of humour comes out of Northern Ireland. It's as dark as dark. You can't imagine a general populace with as black a sense of humour as the nordies. It's something to do with their history, I'm sure.

This book was rather excellent for the first three quarters. I mean, there's a lot of the author in it, and why not? You can see him get angry occasiona...more

· see review

Aug 07, 2009

Lorenzo rated it

Shelves: irish, 2009-readings, aaa-my-library

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 ...moreWhen 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. (less)

· see review

Oct 06, 2007

Caroline Mosley rated it

This book is set in Ireland, more specifically in Belfast. This book is very unique because it is written in many different perspectives. It is written in 1st person when Jake is talking - a Catholic man with a very pathetic and quite monotone life. It is also written in 3rd person limited because for a lot of the book the author is refering to everyone in the 3rd person however focusing more on Chuckie Lurgan. Chuckie Lurgan is a protestant who is good friends with Jake. Chuckie finds odd ways ...more

· see review

Sep 13, 2011

Sandra rated it

I loved this book. The characters go about life against the backdrop of embattled Belfast, because that's what happens, life goes on, even though the terrorists are planting bombs and trying to disrupt life. I loved how characters agonize over looking too Catholic or Protestant, depending on who's looking at them. I think many people can substitute the city and Catholic or Protestant with an identifier of their choice and identify with the characters in the book.

· see review

Oct 21, 2011

Roberta rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2008

Struggente
Ambientato in una Belfast dilaniata dalle bombe, Eureka Street ci parla dell'amore, di quell'amore che è il fine ultimo e la sola ragione delle nostre vite. Ce ne parla attraverso Jake, cattolico sfortunato abbandonato dalla propria ragazza e incapace di dare una regolata alla propria vita, e Chuckie, grassoccio e "filosofico" protestante che si innamora di un'americana e grazie a questo riesce a dare una svolta alla propria esistenza. Un romanzo romantico, triste, crudo...more

· see review

Sep 15, 2010

Robbie rated it

This book started out a bit slow for me, but really picked up steam mid-way through. I loved when the story shifted away from the daily existence of the characters to a greater description of the events and how they shaped the daily existence.

Roche was probably my favorite character, well, not just Roche, but Jake's response to Roche.

All in all, it was a very good book.

· see review

Apr 17, 2009

Walter rated it

This book has my favorite opening line ever:

"All stories are love stories."

Romantic, and wise, and true; as you can apply it to life and the stories people tell. And you learn what they love, it's in those lines. Sometimes this is rewarding. Sometimes boring. Sometimes you should run. Sometimes it's love. Sometimes. But rare. Sometimes they can't.

· see review

Feb 07, 2009

Dominique rated it

What a pity. The writing in this book is amazing... So many wonderful sentences. So many fun words. The premise is good. The characters mostly well-developed. It has a masculine voice that distances while it attracts... so nice. But it needed an editor and it needed tightening. Otherwise, I bet this book would have gone much, much farther. Regardless, it was a pleasure to read... just frustrating because it could have been even more pleasurable.

· see review

Aug 07, 2011

Ron rated it

While it falls just short of the brilliance achieved by Ripley Bogle, his first novel, Eureka Street may well be the best novel every written about 'the troubles' in Ireland. A big, warm-hearted book with characters on both side of the struggle that we come to love, even as we come to grips with their contradictions and the conflict in their souls.

· see review

Nov 15, 2010

Juan Manuel rated it

Todas las emociones posibles en un solo libro. Una mirada lúcida al problema de la identidad, de las elecciones vitales, de la ética personal. Te duele cuando y cuanto te tiene que doler y te devuelve la vida cuando creías que te la había quitado para siempre. Al final sale ganando el hombre y el mundo es un poco mejor.

· see review

Feb 18, 2009

Valerie rated it

I agree with someone else that said this book needed some editing and tightening up. The descriptions are beautifully vivid and it has given me a more in-depth view of the troubles than I ever had before. There are some storylines that seem to go nowhere however and some characters that are a little implausible (and I'm not talking about Chuckie, he's awesome!). Overall, a great read that made me laugh out loud.

· see review

Aug 02, 2009

Mark rated it

Story about a group of friends in Northern Ireland. The Troubles in Northern Ireland provide the backdrop for a novel I suppose you would categorize as a comedy. It actually defies categorization. I would recommend it to anyone regardless of your interest in Ireland.

· see review

Jul 09, 2010

Andy rated it

· review of another edition

Couldn't really get into. Jake was just plain annoying and Chuckies life, whilst entertaining, didn't make any sense to me. And then suddenly his mum comes out as a lesbian. WTF.

· see review

Jan 17, 2009

Paula rated it

Fascinating...well written. I actually had to read a couple chapters over just because they were that visual. Very clear view of a city and a culture I knew nothing about.

· see review

Sep 16, 2011

Joyce rated it

Beautifully written and gives the reader an insight into everyday political and social interaction in a Troubled Belfast. I laughed, cried and shouted in turn.

· see review

Sep 18, 2009

Joachim rated it

· review of another edition

I very much liked the tone of the book. The mixture of tragedy and comedy, awful but cheerful. The language which was sophisticated and down-to-earth at the same time.

· see review

Jul 16, 2009

Laura rated it

A striking fictional account of the conflicts in Northern Ireland. Fascinating and complicated characters. Made me want to learn more about what was/is going on!

· see review

Feb 02, 2012

A. Mary Murphy rated it

· review of another edition

Set in Belfast, this novel is an exploration of conflict, disrupting the whole idea of choosing sides. It's very ambitious, hilarious, biting, angry, terrific.

· see review

Dec 11, 2008

Kent rated it

This book is very funny and has a great message. If you are interested in Ireland or have been to Ireland this book will be of interest.

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 29 30 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (9)

More editions...

Genres

Cultural > Ireland

9 users

European Literature > Irish Literature

7 users

Novels

3 users

Contemporary

3 users

Book Club

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

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 aut...more

More about Robert McLiam Wilson...

Books by Robert McLiam Wilson

Ripley Bogle (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About Eureka Street

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Eureka Street: A Nove...

“All stories are love stories.” — 5 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Eureka Street
avg rating	preview: Eureka Street Goodreads rating: 4.29 (612 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/156234.Eureka_Street?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172261874m/156234.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/156234.Eureka_Street?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Eureka Street by Robert McLiam Wilson[/url]

Eureka Street

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website