''The Woman Who Walked Into Doors'' (1996) is a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by Irish writer

Roddy Doyle Roddy Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ma ...

. It was adapted from the 1994 RTÉ/BBC miniseries ''

Family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

''.

Plot summary

The novel tells the struggle and survival of Paula Spencer, an abused wife who is the narrator. The title comes from an incident where Paula's husband asks her how she received a bruise he was responsible for, and she replies that she "walked into a door." A sequel, '' Paula Spencer'', was published in 2006. The narrative blends her recounting of the circumstances of her childhood, courtship and wedding day, with reflections on those events. The gathering drama is linked to the increasing awareness of moving towards a climax, which is on the one hand the outbreak of violence in her marriage, and on the other hand the violent death of her husband.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' praised "Mr. Doyle's entirely unsentimental and perfectly attuned comprehension of the real world of the Irish present."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote that Doyle "has the decency to understand that the most constrained human life is never simple, and the grace and guts to prove how unimpoverished the countless meanings of that truth can be."

Adaptations

The Spencer family first appeared in the RTÉ/BBC TV miniseries ''

'' in 1994. The novel was adapted as an opera by the composer

Kris Defoort Kris Defoort is a Belgian avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. He was born on 30 November 1959 in Bruges. He also teaches at the Brussels conservatory. His brother is Bart Defoort (saxophonist and composer). He entered in 1978 the Antwerp ...

and the director

Guy Cassiers Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an unin ...

. It received its world premiere in November 2001 at deSingel in Antwerp, and toured extensively before being played in Dublin's Gaiety Theatre in October 2003.

References

1996 Irish novels Novels by Roddy Doyle Novels set in Ireland Jonathan Cape books {{1990s-novel-stub