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Mad Weekend
A story of male friendship, sometimes gone astray. Dave, Pat and Ben have been best friends since they were kids. They do everything together, and they all love their dear Liverpool football club. On a trip to see their favorite team in action, they have a few too many drinks before the match. Dave and Pat get busy chatting up two local girls. Suddenly it's time to leave for the game. But where is Ben?
104 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
83 people want to read
About the author
Roddy Doyle
154Ìýbooks1,600ÌýfollowersRoddy Doyle (Irish: Ruaidhrà Ó Dúill) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. Several of his books have been made into successful films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991. He won the Booker Prize in 1993.
Doyle grew up in Kilbarrack, Dublin. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from University College, Dublin. He spent several years as an English and geography teacher before becoming a full-time writer in 1993.
Doyle grew up in Kilbarrack, Dublin. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from University College, Dublin. He spent several years as an English and geography teacher before becoming a full-time writer in 1993.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 14, 2016
Librettino breve e veloce, con tanti dialoghi e poca voglia di perder tempo.
Inizia bene: tre amici, il calcio, la birra, una storia che nel suo piccolo mi ha tenuta incollata, momenti un po' scemi ma pur sempre divertenti.
Purtroppo nell'ultimo capitolo Doyle manda tutto in vacca inventandosi un finale talmente idiota da risultare fastidioso.
2 stelline che se ci ripenso mi sembrano anche troppe.
Inizia bene: tre amici, il calcio, la birra, una storia che nel suo piccolo mi ha tenuta incollata, momenti un po' scemi ma pur sempre divertenti.
Purtroppo nell'ultimo capitolo Doyle manda tutto in vacca inventandosi un finale talmente idiota da risultare fastidioso.
2 stelline che se ci ripenso mi sembrano anche troppe.
December 4, 2022
Dave, Pat and Ben have been best friends since they were kids. They do everything together, and they all love Liverpool FC. On a trip to see their favourite team in action, they have a few too many drinks before the match. But when it is time to leave for Anfield, Ben is nowhere to be found.
When I started reading this, I was worried it would be all about football. I am NOT a fan of football so started to worry as I was reading this. However, this was not the case and I found that I really enjoyed reading this. Having said that I thought the ending was a little farfetched.
Due to the farfetched ending, this diminished the read for me and reduced the read from a three star to a two star for me.
When I started reading this, I was worried it would be all about football. I am NOT a fan of football so started to worry as I was reading this. However, this was not the case and I found that I really enjoyed reading this. Having said that I thought the ending was a little farfetched.
Due to the farfetched ending, this diminished the read for me and reduced the read from a three star to a two star for me.
May 11, 2014
Dave, Pat e Ben sono amici d'infanzia. Condividono le stesse passioni: la birra, le donne e il calcio. Infatti, pur essendo tutti e tre di Dublino, sono tifosissimi del Liverpool e il loro sogno è andare al mitico stadio di Anfield. Ovvio che, sull'onda dell'entusiasmo per la vittoria della Champions League, la proposta di Dave di un pazzo weekend a Liverpool per seguire la squadra e magari spassarsela in qualche pub venga accolta e subito messa in pratica dal gruppo. Il piano sembra perfetto: i tre entrano in un pub in attesa del match, Dave e Pat incontrano un paio di belle ragazze e, tra chiacchiere e risate, il tempo trascorre veloce. La partita sta per cominciare... ma dov'è finito Ben?
Dopo un incipit che prometteva una lettura interessante e divertente, arriva un romanzo breve deludente: dialoghi fatti di niente, storia inconsistente e per nulla credibile, finale assurdo.
Unico pregio: i caratteri grandi e molto spaziati consentono la lettura in un ora circa riducendo lo spreco di tempo al minimo.
Dopo un incipit che prometteva una lettura interessante e divertente, arriva un romanzo breve deludente: dialoghi fatti di niente, storia inconsistente e per nulla credibile, finale assurdo.
Unico pregio: i caratteri grandi e molto spaziati consentono la lettura in un ora circa riducendo lo spreco di tempo al minimo.
December 13, 2021
Not sure what went wrong... but it sure did!
Picked this up for a quick and easy read for the train; it starts in the best of ways, having me laughing out loud but went horribly wrong in the end. Three Irish friends go to Liverpool to see the football match, and Ben encounters a misfortune. Engaging and humorous, but the final reveal of what actually happens to Ben is so absurd and unbelievable to spoil the rest of the novella. Roddy Doyle is a great author and I love both his style and many of his books but I would not recommend this.
Picked this up for a quick and easy read for the train; it starts in the best of ways, having me laughing out loud but went horribly wrong in the end. Three Irish friends go to Liverpool to see the football match, and Ben encounters a misfortune. Engaging and humorous, but the final reveal of what actually happens to Ben is so absurd and unbelievable to spoil the rest of the novella. Roddy Doyle is a great author and I love both his style and many of his books but I would not recommend this.
November 25, 2017
One of an admirable series that is aimed at encouraging struggling readers, this is a strange little tale about three friends on a weekend trip to Liverpool. Written in a very simple repetitive style it's not, IMHO, one of the better ones of the set.
August 12, 2021
Un libro che si lascia leggere in poco più di un’oretta, visto che parliamo di poco meno di un centinaio di pagine. Non tra i migliori dell’autore ma qualsiasi libro di Roddy Doyle, per me, merita una lettura. Calcio, birre e un’avventura quasi surreale.
November 2, 2019
Divertente, ma anche malinconico e un po' surreale.
E' quasi tutto dialogato.
Originale.
E' quasi tutto dialogato.
Originale.
March 10, 2020
Mad Weekend (2008)
Doyle sei pazzo.
Doyle sei pazzo.
May 11, 2020
Sicuramente molto divertente, e che il buon Roddy si sia divertito a scriverlo è fuori discussione. Ma niente di più.
December 2, 2022
Dai ragazzi è divertente perchè siete tutti così serrati coi voti
December 16, 2013
Quando Pat, Dave e Ben partono dalla loro città natale Dublino alla volta di Liverpool hanno in mente di trascorrere solamente un weekend di calcio e bevute, non obbligatoriamente in quest'ordine. Giunti a Liverpool, mentre attendono in un pub l'ora del calcio d'inizio della sfida tra la loro squadra del cuore, il Liverpool appunto e il Chelsea, Ben sparisce nel nulla. Avrebbe solo dovuto fare una normalissima sosta al gabinetto ed invece non torna più dai suoi amici. La faccenda si fa via via più misteriosa con il passare delle ore e dei giorni fino a diventare un caso del quale parlano i telegiornali. Tornati a Dublino i due amici rimanenti cadono in una crisi delle più nere fino al giorno in cui...
Vorreste sapere il seguito della storia, vero?
Allora non dovete far altro che recarvi presso la vostra libreria di fiducia ed acquistare la vostra copia di "Pazzo weekend" di Roddy Doyle che, una volta di più, si conferma una delle voci e delle penne più brillanti del panorama letterario europeo contemporaneo.
Vorreste sapere il seguito della storia, vero?
Allora non dovete far altro che recarvi presso la vostra libreria di fiducia ed acquistare la vostra copia di "Pazzo weekend" di Roddy Doyle che, una volta di più, si conferma una delle voci e delle penne più brillanti del panorama letterario europeo contemporaneo.
March 14, 2008
Like ‘Not Just for Christmas� before it ‘Mad Weekend� is a novella written by Roddy Doyle for the Open Door series of books, which seek to promote reading for pleasure.
‘Not Just for Christmas� was a wonderful piece of writing and so I was expecting allot from ‘Mad Weekend� which I didn’t think it particularly delivered. It could have been that my expectations where to high.
Dave, Pat and Ben have been best friends since they were kids and travel from Dublin to Liverpool to watch their beloved Liverpool FC over a ‘Mad Weekend�. The Problem is I don’t care, on reading ‘Not Just for Christmas� I found myself caring about Danny and Jimmy Murphy but the story of Dave, Pat and Ben left me cold, I didn’t even care about the outcome of the match.
I would recommend most Roddy Doyle but not this particular book.
‘Not Just for Christmas� was a wonderful piece of writing and so I was expecting allot from ‘Mad Weekend� which I didn’t think it particularly delivered. It could have been that my expectations where to high.
Dave, Pat and Ben have been best friends since they were kids and travel from Dublin to Liverpool to watch their beloved Liverpool FC over a ‘Mad Weekend�. The Problem is I don’t care, on reading ‘Not Just for Christmas� I found myself caring about Danny and Jimmy Murphy but the story of Dave, Pat and Ben left me cold, I didn’t even care about the outcome of the match.
I would recommend most Roddy Doyle but not this particular book.
June 24, 2012
Thank goodness this was a novella! Irritating dialogue between the characters and a nasty habit of 'padding'out the text with unnecessary words. E.g 'what did you say?' Said Pat, 'Nothing' Said Dave, 'But you did mumble something' Said Pat, 'Yeah, you did' said Tracy, 'I just had wind' said Dave. And so it goes on and on throughout and doesn't add anything to the tale at all. The tale, by the way did need something to be added to it to make it into a story worth reading - this, sadly was not such a tale.
I've read Roddy Doyle through the years on many an occasion and feel that this was something he was asked to trot out and did so on a rainy afternoon. He has produced so much better!
I've read Roddy Doyle through the years on many an occasion and feel that this was something he was asked to trot out and did so on a rainy afternoon. He has produced so much better!
September 19, 2012
Well, if this is the typical stuff that Roddy Doyle writes, I won't be reading anything else by him. Ugh. Annoying conversations (especially when they meet the "mad" girls.. just kill me now) and a pretty boring plot. Friends meet up... friend disappears.. friend calls them later. Ben's story would have been a lot more interesting to read about.
Part of the Open Door Series - a program of original works by beloved authors, originally designed in Ireland to promote adult literacy.
Part of the Open Door Series - a program of original works by beloved authors, originally designed in Ireland to promote adult literacy.
February 6, 2015
This was a fun but very short book. At just over 100 pages I was able to finish it in one sitting. A great read for any fan of Liverpool FC, soccer (football), or buddy stories centered around a pub.
Ben, Pat, and Dave are Liverpool fans who decide to visit Anfield one weekend and watch their club play. Before the match however they have to visit the local pub. It's here that Ben goes missing. Will Pat and Dave find Ben before they have to leave?
Ben, Pat, and Dave are Liverpool fans who decide to visit Anfield one weekend and watch their club play. Before the match however they have to visit the local pub. It's here that Ben goes missing. Will Pat and Dave find Ben before they have to leave?
May 19, 2010
A very different Doyle from the one I know. This is a short story about friendship, with a strange style (very short phrases). It's about friendship, and the story it's really simple. Anyway it is enjoyable, and I did not understand where it would go in the end. Funny ;)
March 18, 2012
It's fun, but a bit simple if one is expecting what Doyle delivers novel after novel. The purpose of this series is to get people reading by offering stories by known writers. Although simple, the prose does not condescend.
September 25, 2014
I read this in Italian Pazzo Weekend and was not bowled over. It was my first by this author and next one will be in English. Three friends go to Liverpool on a shoestring budget for a football match and one gets lost.
September 1, 2015
A very silly book with dumb characters. It can be summed up this way: soccer, drinking and chicks. I was expecting better, but I mainly read it for the experience of getting more Italian reading comprehension under my belt. A short novel, but it had some good colloquial speech and vocabulary.
August 7, 2011
Lovely read, short and sweet. Available in Irish as well.
December 6, 2011
A great wee piece of whimsy. Funny and realistically written, almost believable.
If you liked this you should read 'Whit' by Iain Banks.
If you liked this you should read 'Whit' by Iain Banks.
July 26, 2013
Weird and fun. The simple language sets the tone of lads who just want to chant for their favorite club. LiiiiI ver pooool. Liiiii ver pooool.
November 14, 2019
Si legge in un attimo ed è stupido al punto giusto per piacermi. Doyle, poi, con i dialoghi ci sa fare alla perfezione e questo racconto è costituito praticamente solo da dialoghi. Bello!
June 18, 2014
A sweet short story from Roddy Doyle. Funny from the beginning but a bit weird at the end.
August 8, 2011
Weird and disappointing for Doyle. Maybe I expected too much because I love him so.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
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