This is the latest from the wonderful Irish author, Roddy Doyle, and her returns with this profoundly powerful, Dublin based character driven piece that builds on his previous works, The Woman who Walked into Doors, and the eponymous Paula Spencer, both of which regretfully I have never read. However, this did not prevent me from becoming captivated and immersed in the now 66 year old Paula's extraordinary yet into what has shaped into being the ordinary life she takes pleasure in, if anyone deserves a measure of peace in their life, it is Paula. Her 4 children are grown up, her dry cleaning job is just fine, there is a good man, but it is not serious, and she has a close circle of friends who see her.

However, there is the cost of living crisis to contend with, and the devastation that Covid wreaked in society, the effects of which so many still have to recover from. The tentacles of Paula's painful past, prove to be all too alive within her, a brutal violent marriage, drug addiction, shamefully humiliating memories refusing to be pushed away. In this mother and daughter narrative, sensitively portrayed, Paula;s eldest daughter, Nicola, has left her family to return home, paving the way for a challenging scenario of Nicola outlining the suffering and damage that past had on her life. There are complexities, simultaneous yet opposing emotions that arise, and a real need for humour to handle the ravaging pain of the past and the present.

Doyle's writing is exquisite, beautifully juggling the difficulties of the past and the present, his ability to slip into Paula's head is a resonating revelation, facing her children, as we recognise just how inescapable is her inner strength, her emotion resilience is a joy to observe. I loved reading this, it truly gets under your skin, but whilst I highly recommend this, I hope it appeals to a wide variety of readers, but as you will have gathered, it does eloquently tread through difficult lives, issues, and territories. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

‘Maybe that was what happened, what was happening - like the air. Your thoughts — the information and opinions and bits of gossip and shite that you accumulated, the things you thought were important — they heated up and rose, like air, convectional currents, through your brain, and the cold thoughts and ideas and images - all the things you'd forgotten about, that had been up there for years, cooling - slid back down and replaced the warm thoughts. That was it, maybe - you never forgot. Your memories aren't memories. They're alive.’

Quietly different beast to 1994’s The Woman Who Walked into Doors - still for me Doyle’s best - to which this is the second sequel after Paula Spencer. Unlike the first book, which was largely monologue, this benefits from a bigger cast, including Paula’s eldest (now menopausal) daughter.

3.5 🌟


You'd think Paula had had a hard enough life, that she would be allowed a quiet retirement.
But she isn't.
With covid, cost of living crisis and a daughter returning home, there's little peace to be had.
There's a lot of memories in Paula's house, that hark back to the previous books but this stand up well as a read alone.
She's a strong character that I can't help but like, and she frequently made me smile, especially in relation to Mary.
Tough topics handled well.
This book leaves me thinking we might yet see Paula, and Nichola again, and I'd be happy to do so.

We're back with Paula Spencer.

She's now 66, and life is, at last, good.

Except trouble is brewing with Nicola, Paula's eldest child...

Another heart-wrenching episode in the life of this remarkable woman.

Brilliant

Following on from The Woman who Walked into Doors- 1996 ! where did the time go?- and Paula Spencer 18 years ago , we return to Paula and her life in 2021-22 during the Covid period.

This novel is full of Roddy Doyle's wit, warmth, pathos and love for one of contemporary literature's most unforgettable characters.
This is another powerful and challenging read; exploring the ongoing challenges within Paula's life as an ex alcoholic and surviving a violent marriage. but this time she is the one giving refuge to her daughter Nicola who leaves her family and 'escapes ' to her mum.

Told over monthly interludes and the ensuing events, Paula's humour and voice reflects upon recent circumstances ; life before lockdown and a new man; going for her vaccination with her close friends; trying to 'make- ends- meets' and the events surrounding Nicola.

In many senses this feels like a play- ( The Woman Who Walked into Doors did make the stage ) the voice of Paula conveys life to the reader/audience in all its raw power.

This is not an easy read- the legacy of covid and its impact is still raw with many and the fractious relationship between. other and daughter is difficult - but if you've read the previous novels then this is highly recommended

I lost touch with Roddy Doyle’s books after The Guts ten years ago. I have to say this is a massive return to form, or maybe all the books I have missed in the last decade have been up to this standard. Either way, Doyle has returned to Paula Spencer - the protagonist of The Woman Who Walked Into Doors and the eponymous sequel.

In this book, Paula is in her late sixties. She has a great group of friends, a dull (but dependable and decent) man in her life and a bunch of children - some of whom are distant, one (Nicola) considers herself damaged by Paula’s marriage. Against the backdrop of COVID, cost of living and modern day Dublin; things come to a head.

It’s a powerful cocktail and those who love Doyle’s dialogue driven style can see it here. He’s always in control of using events in a bigger story about coming to terms with your own child, let alone your past. And although readers may be familiar with what happened to Paula in the previous two novels, it stands alone as a funny, brutal, warm, touching read.

In this book, Paula reads Marian Keyes’ novel The Break. Perhaps he’s impishly nodding at a universe where both novelist and novel are fictional and real at the same time. Either way, this puts Doyle alongside Keyes and Enright at the top table of Irish literature.

It’s published by Random House on 12th September and I thank them for a preview copy. #thewomenbehindthedoor