Ha Ha Ha.

I love Irish literature. It's something I have come to related in a way, and while I realize that the majority of Irish literature is sad and depressing and poverty-stricken because Ireland is by no means a rich country, I relate to it in the sense of loss. In terms of Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha, I find myself relating to his loss of innocence and his obsession with showing his little brother the rules of life. In the first 75 pages, it is really just the background of Patrick's life and the set up for his childhood. And while we wee that he is a mini-pyrotechnic with lighting everything he can on fire, we also see the friendships that he has and also the relationship with his brother, Sinbad. Because this novel does descend from Ireland, I want to automatically related it to Frank McCourt's novels, but somehow I'm hoping that this won't be as sad as Angela's Ashes but as telling as 'Tis. And if Doyle continues with the dialogue format in which he writes the beginning and interactions, then I think it will be a true coming of age, a robbery of childhood innocence, and the strife for something better.