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Summary: Forget 'Angela's Ashes' here is a real picture of Ireland.
Review: Having grown up and attended college in Ireland in the eighties this book brought back a flight of memories. The author's recounting of an insecure, jealous Irish male is note perfect. The book is funny, disturbing and accurate down to the smallest details. How did the Author know they played 'New York New York' to close my local disco every Saturday night?
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Summary: I love Ardal even more!
Review: I am a big fan of the TV show 'Father Ted' that Ardal was on so I decided to check this book out. I LOVED it. I think my knowledge of Irish slang ('crack' means 'a good time')and humour helped me to enjoy it as much as I did. I found it very funny. It is by no means light, but it's very witty and insightful.
Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable
Review: I first became introduced to Ardal O'Hanlon through the Father Ted BBC series. I found him to be very witty and his delivery was right on the mark every time! When I found out he had written a book I was dying to read it. I wasn't disappointed. I found myself not being able to put the book down. I won't go into details about the story (you can read the other reviews for that). I will simply state that I enjoyed the book and it carried me away for a few hours while reading it. It is funny, sad, depressing, enlightening, thorough and complete. You don't often find so many levels in one story. Definitely recommended. By the way, if you haven't seen the Father Ted series check out the DVD! You will laugh non-stop!
Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable
Review: I first became introduced to Ardal O'Hanlon through the Father Ted BBC series. I found him to be very witty and his delivery was right on the mark every time! When I found out he had written a book I was dying to read it. I wasn't disappointed. I found myself not being able to put the book down. I won't go into details about the story (you can read the other reviews for that). I will simply state that I enjoyed the book and it carried me away for a few hours while reading it. It is funny, sad, depressing, enlightening, thorough and complete. You don't often find so many levels in one story. Definitely recommended. By the way, if you haven't seen the Father Ted series check out the DVD! You will laugh non-stop!
Rating: 
Summary: Sorry, I didn't like it.
Review: I'm usually extremely tolerant of the books I read, and always try to give authors the benefit of the doubt in my reviews. Unfortunately, I just didn't like this book. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly why, but I just didn't find it either amusing or entertaining. It was an almost non-stop rant, both bleak and depressing. Occasionally the Irish slang was offputting, but I overcame that as I went along. There were many times that I just wanted to throw it against the wall and not finish it, but I felt a duty to see it through if I wanted to write a review. The one good thing about this book is that it was fairly short, so I didn't waste a lot of time on it.
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Summary: Excellent tale
Review: In 1983 Dublin, nineteen-year old Patrick Scully works as a security guard in a jewelry store. Through his roommate, college student Xavier "Balls" O'Reilly, Patrick meets another student Francesca Kelly. While Patrick thinks Francesca is his girlfriend, her diary entries suggest otherwise sating she loves Balls. Francesca returns to her hometown to visit her mother. Balls and Patrick also go home to their village. Though he believes overall that he is an honorable and faithful person, Patrick picks up a girl at the local pub and shares sex. He desperately tries to bury his guilty feelings involving what he has done to Francesca. All Patrick wanted was his relationship with to continue, while the growing more independent woman wanted to end it. KNICK KNACK PADDY WHACK is an interesting characters-driven look at a young adult trying to grasp onto anything that will stop him from drowning in society's hypocrisy. The plot is clearly Patrick's tale even though the absence of Francesca adds to the excitement. Patrick uses humor to defuse his growing dark feelings and to survive in a world that he loathes. Ardal O'Hanlon scores with his debut novel that focuses on the dichotomy of feelings and disenchantment that late teens feel as they step into the realm of adulthood.
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Summary: Highly Unmemorable...
Review: Irish comic O'Hanlon has written a largely unmemorable coming of age novel starring the entirely unsympathetic and creepy 18-year-old Patrick. He works as a security guard in Dublin and periodically takes the bus to his home hamlet on weekends, allowing the reader a glimpse into both city and small town life in early 80s Ireland. While certain set pieces and milieus are descriptively evoked, the overall story of the ethically confused boy and his relationship with college student Francesca doesn't really hold together. The novel is more effective when it breaks off into excerpts from Franceca's diary, detailing her side of their relationship. However, this too, is problematic, as you know that eventually Patrick will be reading it, and only bad things can result. All in all, it lacks the humor I had expected, and is very bleak. Elements of it are highly reminiscent of The Butcher Boy.
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Summary: Engrossing story, beautifully written
Review: Just plain wonderful. Interesting characters, vivid settings, beautiful writing throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it highly
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Read
Review: Mr. O'Hanlon's debut novel will certainly be a memorable one for me. I was intrigued with his interpretation of small town life in Ireland. Although the author gives us a young woman's view through Francesca's Diary, the narrator, Patrick Scully, leaves the strongest impression. The author's characters are well developed and strong. The only thing I worried about in this debut was the extent of the language and some scenes. Patrick Scully is a security guard in Dublin. He doesn't like Dublin because they are rude and not at all like the friendly folks in his hometown of Castlecock. When he comes home for a visit, he has a memorable experience that will affect his life and relationship with his on again-off again girlfriend Francesca. The reader is drawn through Scully, Francesca, and Xavier's lives, emotions, decisions, and outcomes. Mr. O'Hanlon's story captures the struggling emotions youth experience when changing from teen to young adult. He captures their lack of faith in life, and lets the reader hear it through their brash, colorful words. It was an interesting read. Brenda @ Myshelf.com
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Summary: Uneven, but worth a read for the ambiance
Review: No, I never have seen "Father Ted." So, I came to this novel neither hot nor cold towards its author. The protagonist reminds me of a younger version of Garda (policeman) Paddy Coyne in Hugo Hamilton's Dublin novels, "Headbanger" and "Sad Bastard," in its conveyance of contemporary Irish attitudes and language. Sorry, it ain't Barry Fitzgerald for those taken aback at such youthful invective. This could've been a much better long-short story, or a novella. Much of the writing is too casual, even coming from its post-adolescent characters, and I guess the lucrative (!) nature of putting out a novel rather than a story adds to the padded feel of the plot and descriptions. Francesca's story does have, however, a different attitude and diction that works well to balance off of Patrick's, and the shifts add to the appeal the novel does manage to sustain. It's slow going for the first 40% of the book, and it only picks up nearing the finish. Even there, the energy's dissipated into a curiously tame conclusion; I wonder if a sequel's in the works?
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