The Barrytown Trilogy

Updated on Sep 21, 2024

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Number of books 3

Books The Commitments, The Snapper, The Van

The Barrytown Trilogy consists of the first three novels by Irish writer Roddy Doyle and is first published as a trilogy in 1992. All of the three novels have been adapted into successful movies.

The three novels are: The Commitments (1987, film 1991), The Snapper (1990, film 1993), The Van (1991, shortlisted for the 1991 Booker Prize, film 1996). All three novels are focused on the Rabbittes, a working-class family from Dublin.

Family members

James "Jimmy" Rabbitte, Sr. - patriarch and protagonist of the third and final Barrytown novel, The Van, in which he and a friend, Brendan "Bimbo" Reeves, buy a chipper van as a business opportunity during the 1990 World Cup.

Veronica Rabbitte - matriarch of the family who tries to keep the peace and is often known to have a laugh at her family's antics.

Sharon Rabbitte - eldest daughter and the protagonist of the second novel, The Snapper, in which she comes to terms with her pregnancy and later gives birth to a daughter, Georgina (whom the family call "Gina" for short).

Georgina "Gina" Rabbitte - Sharon's daughter, born in The Snapper and featured as a toddler in The Van, often repeating in baby talk the profanity used by family members.

James "Jimmy" Rabbitte, Jr. - eldest son and protagonist of the first novel, The Commitments, in which he and several friends form an Irish soul band. In The Snapper, Jimmy frequently practices being a DJ, much to the predictable annoyance of his father. In the final novel, he has moved out of home and is living with his girlfriend but still makes frequent visits home.

Leslie Rabbitte - second-born son of Jimmy Sr. and Veronica. The least prominent of the children, he is almost never at home in the trilogy. Leslie is frequently in trouble and clashes with his father.

Darren Rabbitte - youngest son, still at school. He decides to become a vegetarian in The Van yet helps Jimmy Sr. with his business.

Tracy and Linda Rabbitte - two youngest children, twin girls, who frequently behave mischievously, provoking the ire of the parents.

Larrygogan - A dog who becomes the family's pet in The Snapper.

References

The Barrytown Trilogy Wikipedia

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