RODDY DOYLE (b.1958)
The Commitments. Dublin: King Farouk, 1987.
First edition of Doyle’s self-published first book and the opening instalment of his Barrytown Trilogy, annotated by the author with over 3400 words of lively commentary. The Commitments tells the story of a working class Soul band from the north side of Dublin. It was adapted into a multi-Bafta award-winning film of the same name in 1991, a musical stage production in London’s West End from 2013 to 2015, and was followed in the Barrytown Trilogy of novels by The Snapper (1993; see lot 28) and The Van (1996; see lot 29). Doyle’s extensive annotations are a whirlwind of energy and enthusiasm: in block capitals throughout, and punctuated with numerous arrows and exclamation marks, he explains some of the more obscure popular culture references from 1980s Dublin, describes his joy at the novel’s innovation (‘I spent a lot of time deciding how to spell words I’d never seen in print before’ – ‘More big decisions. I felt I was doing something that I’d never seen before’), and displays an extraordinary capacity for recalling precise details of the novel’s composition (‘I decided that this was going to happen five minutes before I sat down to write it’ – ‘I remember grinning when I wrote that’).

Octavo. Original pictorial wrappers (textblock adhesive perished, most leaves loose, crease along spine).

Buyer’s premium is payable, with a significant portion donated by Christie’s to English PEN, but note that no VAT is payable on hammer price or buyer’s premium.
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