Patrick "Paddy" Clarke is a 10-year-old boy growing up in 1960s Ireland who has good and bad times with his friends, loves and hates his little brother (and has no use for his baby sisters because they don't do anything worthwhile yet), tells lies to his friends and his teachers in order to gain their appreciation and respect, and who wants nothing more than to understand (and fix) the problems that begin to erupt between his parents. As an oldest child he feels it his position to protect his younger brother, Francis (aka 'Sinbad'), and his mother; he believes that if he sits up at night listening to his parents fight he can somehow protect them all.

The story is a touching and heartbreaking coming-of-age tale. Roddy Doyle manages to capture a 10-year-old boy's perspective on life perfectly. Paddy is precocious and shows his smarts as often as possible, thinking if he can just impress his parents they won't fight with each other. The narrative is written in an inner dialogue manner, as an adult looking back with clarity. In retrospect actions are more important than they ever ultimately could be and things, such as a favorite hot water bottle, are more vivid as an adult than anything else.

This is my first Roddy Doyle book and I am excited to read more. I hear the Barrytown Trilogy is good; since this was my first experience with Barrytown I look forward to what other stories take place there and who else has their names written in cement throughout the town along with Paddy and his friends.