Roddy Doyle: ‘When you’re a writer in Dublin, you’re inevitably asked about Joyce, and it’s boring’ | Books

You have written books, films, TV shows and plays. Which of your projects do fans want to talk to you about?

The one that people pay attention to, especially women, is The Woman Who Entered the House (about a woman who is being abused in a family). It came out in 1996, but even now – I was at a book signing in Auckland a few days ago and two women quietly told me that the book meant a lot to them. I think it’s probably the best book I’ve ever written.

You’ve lived with Paula Spencer, the protagonist of The Woman Who Walked into Doors, for years – from her original TV appearance, to your three novels. What is the most surprising way they have come across in your daily life?

When Covid started, I went to get my first vaccination, and I was a little excited to go home. I was driving and I thought: I wonder what Paula would have made of this? And that’s when Women Behind the Door he came from. When I got home and parked the car, I had heard the news and knew that was what I would be working on for the next few years.

(Once) I remember seeing a picture on Facebook of a woman I used to teach when I was a school teacher, who would be in her late 50’s now. She was wearing a plaid shirt, jeans and white trainers, and I thought: Paula dresses like that. I gave him a shirt (in the novel), a plaid shirt that his brother-in-law didn’t want to wear. And he likes the freedom of it, you know. It is as if in the course of time she found an outfit that she really likes.

In a few years you will both be 70 – what can you get him?

Well, he’s not there. Sometimes I lie to myself, but it’s not there. But I think there is a possibility that I will give him another book. The only thing is, you need a form of energy – I don’t know how to describe it, a kind of itching – to write. I have it at the moment, I just finished a book, and there hasn’t been a long time that I haven’t had it, but I thought there wouldn’t be another time. So it would be a great gift to give Paula, for example, to myself: the itch to write another book.

What book do you keep coming back to, and why?

I think the book I have read more than any other is Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. Just a genius. It’s not one of Dickens’s thickest novels, which I love; It’s small, but it’s just amazing. It has these great characters, a clever plot.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

I remember there was a point, you know, feeling very low. Many successful people in their fields will quietly tell you that they often feel like frauds, and sometimes I do. I would feel out of place in literary events and things like that. (Once) I was talking to someone about how lucky I was, and this man said: “Don’t call it luck. You self-published your first book (The Commitments), for example – you did that, it didn’t fall from the sky.” He said: “Instead you should start thinking about gratitude.” It changed the way I thought about myself, to some extent.

What advice do you have for other writers?

One piece of advice I always give people is: be kind to yourself. The first volume – write pages, write pages, write pages. Then slowly begin to worry about the behavior. But don’t assume that the first sentence you write will be the first sentence in the final essay. Let you search, let you write more. It’s like a relationship: you meet a person, gradually you get to know them by listening, by talking to them. And it’s the same as starting a story or a book, little by little you get to know the people you’re writing with, the tone of the piece, the language that will bring readers closer to them, your style. But you won’t know right away. At the end of the day, if you can say “I wrote 1,000 words today”, it’s more important, in the beginning, than “I wrote 50 great words.” And when you hit, say, 50,000 words, there’s no escaping the fact that you’re writing a book.

The American producers said that you have to remove the profanity from The Commitments to make a movie. Known errors. What is your favorite swear word?

Fuck, fucker is fucker. There is a good Dublin word – geebag – to describe someone. Gee is the Irish translation of noun, but geebag can be male or female. My daughter came home for Christmas a few years ago, and she had two wooden ornaments for the tree. One said gobshite – my father’s favorite – and the other said geebag. It’s very personal.

Who is the prolific writer? And you want to start the insult again and James Joyce?

No! The proposed methods were limited. I’ve read Ulysses twice, you know. You can’t do this unless – I’m not sad, as far as I know. I said it could have been done with better editing, but it was in front of the audience and the audience laughed – as I expected. I think the whole academic world around Joyce is unfortunate in some ways. When there are books about Joyce’s studies, they are just as silly. But I don’t think he has gone that far. And if I were to bring a book on a long trip and the only book I could hold was Ulysses, I would happily bring it and read it happily. I wish I knew which chapters to skip and go to my favorite ones. It’s very painful, when you’re a writer in Dublin – you’re inevitably asked about Joyce, and it’s exhausting. They have no copyright on the streets of Dublin.

Which author, current or former, would you most like to have a pint with, and why?

Dickens would be good company, if only for a little while. He may be a little overbearing. I am in awe of his creative energy, which is amazing, and how he takes the worst things in his life and creates art. And I try to keep an eye on him and ignore his behavior towards his wife and children, which was bad. But I think I would enjoy being in his presence for a long time. I don’t think I’ll be third.

What song do you want to sing at your funeral?

Theme music from (BBC football show) Match Of The Day. I’ve been watching it since I was a kid. The music hasn’t changed. They tried to change it once, people complained. I can only imagine the tone and tone and silliness as the curtains close and the coffin goes off – it would be nuts.