The Commitments — Roddy Doyle

Take a group of fame-starved, working-class Irish youths who call themselves The Commitments, give them a paradoxical passion for the music of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, and a mission-to bring Soul to Dublin-and you have the makings of one of the most engaging and believable novels about rock 'n' roll ever written, a book whose brashness and originality have won it mainstream acclaim and underground cachet. Roddy Doyle, winner of the Booker Prize and author of the bestselling Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, writes about the band with a fan's enthusiasm, about Dublin with a native's cheerful knowingness. His book captures all the shadings of the rock experience: ambition, greed, and egotism-and the redeeming, exhilarating joy of making music.