Ross O'Carroll Kelly books

SPM1959

I was in a friend's place today and seen a huge collection of Ross O'Carroll Kelly books on his book shelf.

No one who was there could believe that I have never read any of these books. Surely I can't be the only one who hasn't?

Is it worth starting to read them or are they over rated like I always assumed?

anncoates

Consider a little joke that makes you laugh when you hear it.

Now consider being told the same joke over and over again for about 8 years.

That's it, essentially.

tecknika

SPM1959 wrote: »

I was in a friend's place today and seen a huge collection of Ross O'Carroll Kelly books on his book shelf.

No one who was there could believe that I have never read any of these books. Surely I can't be the only one who hasn't?

Is it worth starting to read them or are they over rated like I always assumed?

Joke wears thin after the first one and a half. Tragic thing is many have started to copy it and look complete idiots.

Sociopath2

SPM1959 wrote: »

I was in a friend's place today and seen a huge collection of Ross O'Carroll Kelly books on his book shelf.

No one who was there could believe that I have never read any of these books. Surely I can't be the only one who hasn't?

Is it worth starting to read them or are they over rated like I always assumed?

The first few are a brilliant satire on the celtic tiger, a role model for a generation of young men. We grew up though and the joke is wearing a bit thin at this stage

keano_afc

They're hilarious. I'd recommend a read.

fleet_admiral

Load of crap in my opinion.

eviltwin

I think they are brilliant

AndonHandon

They are very well written with some hilarious one-liners and metaphors.

duffman13

Kinda grew up with them, thoroughly enjoyed them and genuinely regularly make me laugh till it hurts. Read the first if you don't enjoy it then don't go back

suicide_circus

Good satire, of its time and place, could be a useful tool for studying the period in years to come.

tecknika

I found the book made pretty average stuff out to be some sort of extravagance. Made me think the writer was either out of touch or chippy.

HalloweenJack

Read it in the Times a few times to get the gist of it, got it and realised it wasn't going to interest me enough to read a whole book.

Insect Overlord

The first 3 are extremely funny. They get less hilarious as the characters get older, but the story-writing gets better and better so it's a fair trade-off.

Copa Mundial

The first few were hilarious imo, can't comment on the more recent ones.

"Taking the stairs like I would the Seoige sisters, two at a time"

Katgurl

Yeah I think they're really funny. They were starting to get a bit tired about three years ago but the most recent one was excellent. Read a few of the columns to see what you think.

I'm not sure I'd be bothered if I didn't grow up in south side Dublin though, probably appeals to me because I came across so many of those w@nkers on a regular basis.

Flincher

I haven't read the more recent books, but I read the column in the Times on a Saturday. Still find it hilarious, more his turn of phrase than anything. The story is a bit old, but I think the writing is top class.

tecknika

Those "w*nkers" very much so in south Dublin followed the script like some sort of bible despite many actually being anywhere near the social demographic Ross was supposed to be from.

dee_mc

I've read them all, the only one I didn't enjoy was the 'Guide to South Dublin on 10 grand a day' which wasn't really part of the series. I loved the latest one, it really made me laugh. I prefer the books to the column. Love the illustrations too.
I think the books are really clever, I have to avoid reading them in public after snorting with laughter on a crowded train once

madmaggie

Katgurl wrote: »

Yeah I think they're really funny. They were starting to get a bit tired about three years ago but the most recent one was excellent. Read a few of the columns to see what you think.

I'm not sure I'd be bothered if I didn't grow up in south side Dublin though, probably appeals to me because I came across so many of those w@nkers on a regular basis.

Where I grew up, and still live, is as far removed culturally from the SoDuCo set as you can get, but that's what appealed to me about these books. It was like reading about some exotic species. I remember being on the DART one time, incidentally it was Sydney Parade, when a crowd of young ones got on. Couldn't make out a word they said.

keano_afc

I like the way the characters have evolved over time. I feared for the series when Ross left college (not that he really went), but Ronan and Honor have taken it on and its still very very funny. I keep thinking the latest installment will be the last, but after I finish it makes me anticipate the next one even more.

Woshy

I find them very funny.

Weirdly - I lived in NZ for a few years and my local library had all the books (with a big sticker on the front saying Written by Paul Howard as Ross O'Carroll-Kelly so you'd know it was fictional). How on earth would the books make sense to the average kiwi?

SPM1959

I feel now that I have somewhat missed out on them. Will buy the first one and take it from there. I've worked with many from these areas in the past so know the 'type' described.

DainBramage

The dead horse has been flogged back to life at this stage.

Aongus Von Bismarck

I still read the column in the Irish Times. Find it moderately amusing. When I was in college I knew a few lads from South Dublin who had many of the same attributes as a young Ross: arrogant, completely lacking in self-awareness, and exceedingly vulgar. Unpleasant men really. So Howard captured the broad stereotype rather well.

Aongus Von Bismarck

I still read the column in the Irish Times. Find it moderately amusing. When I was in college I knew a few lads from South Dublin who had many of the same attributes as a young Ross: arrogant, completely lacking in self-awareness, and exceedingly vulgar. Unpleasant men really. So Howard captured the broad stereotype rather well.

bnt

I tried reading an extract of one that was in some paper. Found it incomprehensible. Do you have to be a Dublin native to get RoCK? If so, that severely limits the global market for his books. :cool:

The_Valeyard

"a horn so big you could beat a donkey out of a quarry with it"

thelad95

I think they're hilarious and good satire. Some of the more recent books are a tad more far-fetched in terms of the plot than the first one and the character of Ross never really grows up at all.

mr_edge_to_you

In recent years some of the stories are a bit far fetched alright, but they are still hilarious. I love them!

There was 2 books I didn't like - We Need To Talk About Ross and How To Get By On €10k a Day.

In my opinion Paul Howard is a genius. Had the pleasure of meeting him a few times and he appears to be a sound guy.

Off to see Breaking Dad in a few weeks too, looking forward to it.

ClovenHoof

Put it this way, they are 'Hilarious' to people who consider it a patriotic duty to pay their TV licence.

TheBody

I love the books. I love the way they take the pi$$ out of all the bollox that came with the Celtic Tiger Years.

DivingDuck

I find them very funny, though they won't be to everyone's taste in terms of humour.

Reading them in sequence at this point in time is kind of trippy, though, since they pretty much perfectly sum up the rise and fall of the Celtic Tiger era. Best example I can think of is how his mother initially was incredibly protective of her Nissan Micra in the first few books, then moves on to a Lexus, and then the crash hits...

It's totally far-fetched in places, but great stuff all the same. I also enjoy the current columns, but they aren't representative of the early books as Ross has gone from 17 to 33, so even if he hasn't changed much, his life circumstances certainly have. Give the first book a try and if you like it, I think you'll find the series interesting reading.

thelad95

ClovenHoof wrote: »

Put it this way, they are 'Hilarious' to people who consider it a patriotic duty to pay their TV licence.

What exactly is your point?

sixfingered

I suspect that you'd have to have been conscious of how the country was back in the mid-2000s and a bit earlier to really enjoy them. A lot of the themes and references might go over the head of folks not old enough or paying attention to things back then. Also, you need to have a decent sense of humour and a tolerance for juvenile jokes.

I've read them all. I started because I liked them then ended up reading them for work purposes as the series went on. I've kept reading them since changing jobs because I enjoy them.

My opinion is that the first few are excellent and have a proper arc for the character, as well as being just really funny satire. The next few were sub-par I think, but still easy and enjoyable reads. One is set in the US, that's the only one I would say I didn't fully enjoy.

But for me, after a bit of a dip (when it sky rocketed a bit with plays and the guide to living on 10k etc), the last few have been really good.

For fans of the series "We need to talk about Ross" is absolutely brilliant.

Chancer3001

I'm reading the latest book at the moment.

I think it's the best of the entire lot story wise

Murray007

Love to see the books turned into a tv series or trilogy of films, although they would probably disappoint compared to the books.

lukesmom

keano_afc wrote: »

I like the way the characters have evolved over time. I feared for the series when Ross left college (not that he really went), but Ronan and Honor have taken it on and its still very very funny. I keep thinking the latest installment will be the last, but after I finish it makes me anticipate the next one even more.

Paul is that you????

dee_mc

Murray007 wrote: »

Love to see the books turned into a tv series or trilogy of films, although they would probably disappoint compared to the books.

I often think that, and then realise that the chances are the characters would look and sound different than they do in my head so it would all be ruined
I've never gone to see the plays for the same reason!

sixfingered

Murray007 wrote: »

Love to see the books turned into a tv series or trilogy of films, although they would probably disappoint compared to the books.

Yeah, despite being a big fan I'm not sure that it would translate as well into a tv show to be honest.

dee_mc

sixfingered wrote: »

Yeah, despite being a big fan I'm not sure that it would translate as well into a tv show to be honest.

That's basically what Damo and Ivor was isn't it? Very similar characters anyway. I'd hate if the books were turned into a series like that!

Omackeral

They're actually gas. The way he spells out the words in their accents is brilliant in it's own right, you can 'hear' them being said by the characters. The colloquialisms are spot on and,as said by someone else, must be like another language altogether for non natives of even Dublin. The play is really good too. Ross' one liners are the pinnacle.

''She's seen more Jap's eyes than a Tokyo optician.''

entropi

I'll never read them, since I've always had exactly zero interest in doing so. Some people I know have enjoyed them, but they're not for me.

keano_afc

lukesmom wrote: »

Paul is that you????

Ha. My first name is Paul, but my surname aint Howard.

WinnyThePoo

Very funny books. As the books have progressed they perhaps haven't got funnier but are written better.

"I've never actually been with her before, roysh?despite her best efforts, it has to be said?always thought of her as a bit of a BOBFOC, the old Body Off 'Baywatch', Face Off 'Crimewatch' sort."

lukesmom

keano_afc wrote: »

Ha. My first name is Paul, but my surname aint Howard.

I'm psychic!

elefant

I started reading them when The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightdress came out, so the fifth one. Bought them all and read them over the summer.

Pretty sure I kept most of my family awake all night for about two weeks I was laughing so hard at them. I actually can't ever remember reading anything else that literally made me laugh out loud like that.

knucklehead6

ClovenHoof wrote: »

Put it this way, they are 'Hilarious' to people who consider it a patriotic duty to pay their TV licence.

thelad95 wrote: »

What exactly is your point?

I think his point is he doesn't like them and he has some strange opinions about the tv licence.

The licence has to be paid because it's the law, and the ROCK books are printed on the same paper as the licences... or something like that.

buck65

suicide_circus wrote: »

Good satire, of its time and place, could be a useful tool for studying the period in years to come.

As opposed to a history book?

The_Captain

It's a bit weird how people are saying it's not funny because it's about posh people, or how they find it funny because they've known people like Ross.
I don't get the logic of it. You can read and enjoy 1984 without ever living in an oppressive communist state, you can like To Kill A Mockingbird without having lived in the US deep South in the 1930s.

The books are funny and Howard is a very clever writer.

La_Gordy

They're great books if you like satire and Irish interest. I see them as being Ireland's Adrian Mole. The pictures are great too.

thelad95

The_Captain wrote: »

It's a bit weird how people are saying it's not funny because it's about posh people, or how they find it funny because they've known people like Ross.
I don't get the logic of it. You can read and enjoy 1984 without ever living in an oppressive communist state, you can like To Kill A Mockingbird without having lived in the US deep South in the 1930s.

The books are funny and Howard is a very clever writer.

True, but generally people find things they can relate too, be it songs or books or plays more appealing to them. It's why my grandfather, who lived through World War 2 is constantly reading history books about it, whereas I would fall asleep after a few pages.