Winner of the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award, and a Horn Book Fanfare Selection
Old Mickey is one hundred and twelve years old. He can't remember what he ate for lunch today, but he can remember every detail of what happened one hundred years ago, when he and his mother ran away from his violent father to take refuge in the hills north of Ottawa.
Brilliantly combining humor and tragedy, the award-winning Uncle Ronald is one of Brian Doyle's most emotionally powerful novels.
A not-to-be-missed read - for the evocation of setting, for the genuine feel of the lively local stories, and for the sheer joy of Doyle's prose.
...a courageous novel that leads you through the darkness and out into the light; a novel that makes you laugh and cry, as only Doyle, Brian can.
This is vintage Doyle: the author at his best, and the reader fully satisfied.
Uncle Ronald is tragicomedy set to an Irish jig.
...the freshness of the writing, the richness of the cast, and the resilience of the comedy will draw the author's fans.
[Doyle] is at the top of his form in Uncle Ronald, with all his trademark skills well hones and in tight control.
I can't think of a better book for a child who needs a sense of comfort and hope for the future.
Doyle has a wonderful grasp of time and place. His unique storytelling voice weaves sound, sight...into an unusual whole.
...this is a tender, sad and wonderful book.