1990 · novel · part two of the trilogy
The Storywhat it's about
sharon rabbitte is pregnant and won't say who the father is. in barrytown, that's not the kind of thing that stays quiet. the neighbourhood gossip machine kicks into gear, her da jimmy sr. has to figure out how to be supportive when he's mortified, her ma veronica holds everything together the way she always does, and sharon herself just gets on with it — because that's what you do. it's funny, it's warm, it's occasionally brutal, and it's really about a family that sticks together even when sticking together means sitting in the same room as an elephant nobody's allowed to mention.
original commentary. no quoted text from the novel.
Who's In Itkey characters
Sharon Rabbitte
eldest rabbitte daughter, expecting
Jimmy Rabbitte Sr.
sharon's da, trying his best
Veronica Rabbitte
the ma, backbone of everything
Jimmy Jr.
sharon's brother, soul man from the first book
Darren Rabbitte
younger brother
The Twins
linda and tracy, younger sisters
What Runs Through Itthemes
Contextthe dublin it came from
ireland in 1990 was still a deeply catholic country where unmarried pregnancy carried real social weight. doyle didn't write a polemic — he wrote a family comedy where the stakes are genuine. the genius of the snapper is how it shows a household absorbing a crisis through humour, denial, and stubborn love. jimmy sr.'s journey from embarrassment to fierce protectiveness mirrors a whole generation of irish fathers learning to catch up with their daughters.
On Screenthe film (1993)
directed by Stephen Frears. made for BBC television but good enough for the big screen. colm meaney's jimmy sr. — the mortified da learning to be proud — is one of the great irish screen performances.
notable cast