On goodreads, 320 people listed this as "fiction" and 96 as "Irish literature", which tells you something. Roddy Doyle's first book is a pretty quick read, telling of the rise (and fall) of the "World's Hardest Working Band" in Dublin.

Total time to read: 1.4 hours. Length of the film: 1.98 hours. Then again, Ted Chiang's short "The Story of Your Life" is definitely shorter than 2016's "Arrival". For a first novel, this is awesome, and two more were written in the "Barrytown Trilogy" - the other two also made into films. If language bothers you, I understand he also wrote eight books for children. I haven't read 'em, so no guarantees.

Back to this book, I think it's worth reading. The film is excellent, with actual music instead of text describing the music - a major plus. I'm fairly sure I read the book before seeing the film, but I don't recall much of it - a strike against. With this (re?)read, I note that the ending is slightly different - but now I need to rewatch the film to confirm. Both subsequent books - The Snapper and The Van - are also excellent. I'll go with 4 stars out of 5 for now.