Paddy Clarke Ha, Ha, Ha: 1-115

I started reading Paddy Clarke Ha, Ha , Ha by Roddy Doyle just a few days ago and I am really enjoying it. Prior to reading this book for class I heard about it in high school (it was one of the books we could choose to read over the summer in my honors English class junior or senior year). I didn't really know what it was about so I picked it up with little hopes, expectations, or feelings towards it. As I read a few pages, I noticed that the structure of the novel is very similar to that of the novel we just finished reading, Ceremony. The reason I feel that the structures are similar is because neither this book or Ceremony were broken down into chapters. Thoughts, scenes, and events happen "randomly" or are not written down in the book as chronological events. Contrary to Ceremony, however, I am able to better follow the events and happenings in this book even though they are quite "random."

In the 100+ pages that I have read so far I feel that I have come to know the main character and narrator pretty well. Patrick (or Paddy Clarke) is a young boy of about 10 years old who is growing up in a small town in Ireland. As a young child, Paddy seems to be very curious and this often gets him and his friends in trouble. His younger brother, Sinbad, often leads Paddy to get into trouble and the two do not seem to get along all that way (like most young brothers though). For the most part, Paddy seems like a normal every day boy just growing up. Everything that I have read so far seems to just be events that have happened in his life so far and little things he has experienced as a young boy.

Something that I have noticed to be developing so far is that Paddy's parents seem to have some quarrels. I am not sure if this is going to amount to more as I read further, but I have noticed that both "Ma" and "Da" do not get along all too well. Paddy tells a story to the readers about a small or "quiet" should I say fight that his parents had. He explains that it happened on an afternoon where the family had gone out for a drive. This story was explained, by Paddy, the narrator, through his own eyes as a child and this really helps the author to understand his character more. To be put in the main character and narrators shoes really helps to give a deeper more meaningful perspective to the book and situations that occur.

I hope to continue to enjoy this book as much as I have so far!