Reading order · 4 books · 1987 to 2013 · Set in the fictional Barrytown, Dublin
The Barrytown Novels in Order
The Barrytown novels follow the Rabbitte family of the fictional Dublin suburb of Barrytown, starting with Jimmy’s soul band.
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Series facts
- Books
- 4
- Published
- 1987 to 2013
- First book
- The Commitments
- Latest
- The Guts (2013)
- Setting
- Set in the fictional Barrytown, Dublin
The reading order
Every The Barrytown novels book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
4 books · Set in the fictional Barrytown, Dublin
- 1The Commitments1987With Jimmy RabbitteJimmy Rabbitte sets out to bring soul music to Dublin’s northside by forming a band, The Commitments.Buy on Amazon
- 2The Snapper1990With Jimmy Rabbitte Sr and Sharon RabbitteSharon Rabbitte, twenty, is pregnant and will not say who the father is, to the delight of the neighbours and the confusion of her dad.Buy on Amazon
- 3The Van1991With Jimmy Rabbitte SrJimmy Rabbitte Sr, out of work, goes into business with his best friend selling fish and chips from a van during the 1990 World Cup.Buy on Amazon
- 4The Guts2013With Jimmy RabbitteJimmy Rabbitte, now forty-seven, learns he has bowel cancer, and finds his way back to music and to old friends.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read in order: The Commitments, The Snapper, The Van, The Guts.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Jimmy Rabbitte | Jimmy Rabbitte Sr | Sharon Rabbitte |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 The Commitments | LLead | ·Minor | |
| 2 The Snapper | ·Minor | LLead | LLead |
| 3 The Van | ·Minor | LLead | |
| 4 The Guts | LLead | MMajor |
Characters in the The Barrytown novels books
3 characters from Roddy Doyle’s chart, with the number of The Barrytown novels books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Jimmy RabbitteBand manager | 4 | The Commitments 1987 |
| Jimmy Rabbitte SrHis father | 4 | The Commitments 1987 |
| Sharon RabbitteJimmy’s pregnant sister | 1 | The Snapper 1990 |