Brian Conaghan was raised in the Scottish town of Coatbridge but now lives and works as a teacher in Dublin. His books include When Mr Dog Bites, The Boy Who Made It Rain, and the newly released The Bombs That Brought Us Together. One of his ten favorite teen books about male friendship, as shared at the Guardian:Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy DoyleRead about the other books on the list.
Set in the 1960s North Dublin and narrated by 10-year old Paddy Clarke, the eldest child of his family. Paddy has a glut of friends; he’s probably closest to Kevin Conway, a rather unlikeable kid, and James O’Keefe, isa good deal more - despite being, quite possibly, the biggest liar in Barrytown. The most adorable of Paddy’s friends, however, are a pair of brothers called Liam and Aidan. The boys’ mother is dead, and though their father is trying his best, he seems to be a little lost.
It’s set at a time when not only society is changing, but Paddy’s home life and friendships are dramatically changing too. There’s a certain sadness about watching Paddy grow up as the story unfolds; witnessing his trajectory from the warmth of the book’s beginning to the tragedy of the book’s denouement.
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha is among John Mullan's ten best child narrators in literature.
--Marshal Zeringue
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