Author Brian Doyle strove to understand what it means to be a child

From the publication of his first novel, Hey,Dad!, in 1978, Brian Doyle delighted readers with his unique style and distinctive voice. Blending comedy and tragedy with a dash of Dylan Thomas, a sprinkle of Shakespeare and a touch of blarney, Mr. Doyle’s novels explored issues relevant to the lives of the young readers for whom he was writing. And behind each of the rollicking belly laughs was a humane and sensitively expressed desire to understand what it means to be a child.

Mr. Doyle continued producing works for young readers, examining what he calls “the classic concerns, the ones with the capital letters.” As dauntingly serious as this statement sounds, Mr. Doyle’s novels are actually comic, reflecting his vision of life: “Laughter and tears are very close together,” he once observed. “I can’t do one without the other. When I work on a serious question, a mirror of humour always presents itself.”