The Dead Republic

Library Journal Doyle's latest concludes the saga of Henry Smart, the Irish revolutionary first introduced in A Star Called Henry (1999) and revisited in Oh, Play That Thing (2004). Here, the Irish rebel is older, perhaps wiser, and alive after having once again cheated a certain death. Opening in the 1940s and concluding in 2010, the book propels readers on a dizzying trajectory from film-studio lots in the States to quiet suburbs north of Dublin. Though Smart is retired, his old loves and enemies reappear, and admirers insist on making his acquaintance. Pressed into action, he crisscrosses parishes in the Republic and counties in the North, sometimes walking on his wooden leg and sometimes riding in a car or van with a pillowcase over his head. Doyle suggests that there is no escape for anyone with a past that others have claimed for themselves. VERDICT Once again, Doyle masterfully renders Henry Smart's voice. A triumphant tale from a lyrical and thoughtful storyteller. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/10.]?J. Greg Matthews, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman