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

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by Irish writer

Roddy Doyle Roderick 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 ...

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

Family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

''.

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. A further book about the character, '' The Women Behind the Door'', followed in 2024.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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 influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

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. Early life Kris Defoort was born in Bruges, Belgium. His brother is saxophonist and composer Bart Defoort. In 1978, he entered the conservatory in Antwerp to study early music an ...

and the director Guy Cassiers. 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 Novels adapted into operas {{1990s-novel-stub