Dancing With Minnie the Twig

by Mogue Doyle

A coming-of-age novel like no other.

Rural Ireland in the 1960s. If you were a boy, you listened to Radio Luxembourg on the wireless, went to the pictures, went hurling up the fields with your best friend, thought about what the big boys got up to with the girls, in particular, what your brother did with his girlfriend, Minnie. Your Mam ruled the house and you watched out for your father, who would fly into rages and give you a right ringer when you weren’t expecting it. Most of all, you knew everything about the village where you lived, and everyone there. And Tony did; he was one smart boy -- at least he thought he was until the day he saw his father with Mrs. Rourke and there was an accident that changed everything.

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Liz Chapman]

This is a different sort of book and tells of an Irish village in the 1960s . Tony's life is hard and his father is brutal but through his eyes the story of his short life is funny and haunting . The small community comes to life in a very real way and after you have finished the book it lingers in your mind. You can't help feeling so sorry for the child Tony that life dealt him such an awful deal . Did he know family love at all? I didn't understand the Irish but the way all the characters talk makes the book read like a film.