Woman Who Walked Into Doors, The

Gritty and moving, The Woman Who Walked Into Doors has been widely described as Roddy Doyle's best work to date.

My name is Paula Spencer. I am thirty-nine years old. It was my birthday last week. I was married for eighteen years. My husband died last year. He was shot by the Guards. He left me a year before that. I threw him out. His name was Charles Spencer; everyone called him Charlo.' The Woman Who Walked Into Doors is one of Roddy Doyle's finest achievement to date, the heart-rending story of a woman struggling to reclaim her dignity after a violent, abusive marriage and a worsening drink problem. Paula Spencer recalls her contented childhood, the audacity she learned as a teenager, the exhilaration of her romance with Charlo, and the marriage to him that left her powerless. Capturing both her vulnerability and her strength, Doyle gives Paula a voice that is real and unforgettable. Lean, sexy, funny and poignant, The Woman Who Walked Into Doors shows, yet again, that Roddy Doyle has an unparalleled gift for transforming ordinary life into great literature.

Author Profile

Roddy Doyle was born in Dublin in 1958. His first novel, The Commitments, was published to great acclaim in 1987 and was made into a very successful film by Alan Parker. The Snapper was published in 1990 and has also been made into a film, directed by Stephen Frears. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, which won the Booker Prize in 1993, was the largest-selling winner in the history of the prize and has been published in nineteen languages. His latest novel is the sequel to The Woman Whob Walked Into Doors, Paula Spencer.

Reviews

In feeling the pulse of a raw Dublin suburb, Doyle is recording a beat that can be recognised all over the world,This new novel is Roddy Doyle's best to date. I cannot recall any writer who has better captured the vulnerability and courage of a woman trapped in a loveless marriage,Even more mesmerizing than his prize-winning Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha,His best work yet