44, Dublin Made Me

Sheridan's crackling prose and details about Dublin life recall the fiction of Roddy Doyle, but this real-life story paints a brighter picture of the Irish family than does Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. With belly-laughs, sighs and tears, Sheridan recalls life at his home at 44 Seville Place during the 1960s, when he came of age, the Beatles made Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and the Americans walked on the moon. Looming large in the narrative is his ebullient father, whom we first see using cut-up pages of the Dublin phone book for toilet paper. ""Da""'s comic mishaps include food poisoning from repairing his own false teeth, and blue and purple hair from an amateur dye job. Sheridan also pokes fun at himself, milking the classic autobiographical themes of ineptitude in sports and love. Fear of a sadistic teacher, the trauma of sexual predation and death in the family provide the darker memories of growing up. Sheridan, a prominent figure in contemporary Irish theater, was the first student from his local school in 25 years to go to university. With his brother, film director Jim Sheridan, he well represents the current cultural explosion in Ireland, and communicates the experiences and values that fuel today's rich artistic scene. Readers of this friendly, direct book will easily be able to picture the author telling his tales in a cozy Dublin pub. Penguin audio; author tour. (May)