(Published by New Island)
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Not Just For Christmas is from New Island’s Open Door series. This series features original or adapted works from well know Irish authors and is designed to open the door to reading for those who are less literate and improve their skills while enjoying the benefits of a good story.
Roddy Doyle is of course a Booker prizewinner (1993) and the author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, The Woman Who Walked into Doors, The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van. He has also written a number of childrens books.
In Not Just For Christmas Danny Murphy gets a call from his brother, Jimmy, who he hasnt seen in more than 20 years. The story charts his journey to their meeting and the subsequent reunion. Full of reminiscences, recriminations and confidences the story rings true. It is neither over dramatic or tortured but an understandable and affecting account of how bothers who were once like twins could put a distance of two decades between them.
The crux of this book is the fact that the story is the integral part this is not Ann and Barry, it is not patronising or mollycoddling in any way. Maybe steps have been taken to simplify the language but this is not to the detriment to the story neither is it noticeable.
This is basically a short story from Roddy Doyle. One for any fan of Roddy, of short stories, for someone who has little time to read (it spans 77 pages in larger type) or indeed someone who wants to brush up on their skills without compromising quality.
Patricia Scanlan on the Open Door Series:
Open Door is a concept I came up with to help and encourage readers who have literacy problems. I wanted people to enjoy reading and not see it as a chore or something daunting. I asked some of my author friends and colleagues to join with me in writing a series of novellas with literacy problems in mind. We wanted to write enjoyable adult novellas that were not difficult to read. Roddy Doyle, Joe O’ Connor, Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, Cathy Kelly and Sheila O’Flanagan are some of the authors involved. We are now on our fourth series, and they have been translated into seven languages. 
