We Need to Talk About Ross

We Need To Talk About Ross: The Totally Official Biography of Ross O'Carroll-Kelly is a 2009 book of fictional interviews by Irish journalist and author Paul Howard, as part of the Ross O'Carroll-Kelly series. It takes the form of a series of interviews with Ross and his friends in the aftermath of Mr S and the Secrets of Andorra's Box.[1][2]

We Need To Talk About Ross
AuthorPaul Howard
Working titleWe Need to Talk About Ross: A True History of the O'Carroll-Kelly Gang
IllustratorAlan Clarke
Cover artistAlan Clarke
CountryIreland
LanguageEnglish
SeriesRoss O'Carroll-Kelly
GenreMetafiction
Set inDublin, 2008
PublisherPenguin Books
Publication date
3 June 2009
Media typePaperback
Pages236
ISBN978-1-84488-179-6
823.92

The title is a reference to Lionel Shriver's novel We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Concept

Ross has been given a six-figure advance to write 1,001 Birds You must Knob before You Die. In desperation, the publisher dispatches ghost writer Paul Howard to see if Ross will agree to a biography instead. Howard interviews various figures from Ross's life, and tries to uncover the truth behind the events depicted in the novel series.

We Need To Talk About Ross exposes the Ross of the earlier books as an unreliable narrator, for example, hiding any reference to his use of cocaine. Continuity errors in the books are also dismissed as mistakes by Ross.

Reception

Chris Binchy of The Irish Times praised it, saying "By opening up the narrative to multiple perspectives he is able to take the personal mythologies of each of the key characters and slowly pick them apart. […] Howard has always been a sharp, funny and humane writer and this book again demonstrates the keenness of his vision and his ability to find humour in darkness as well as light."[3] In the same paper, Arminta Wallace named it as the best memoir of the year.[4]

In the Irish Independent, Anne Marie Scanlon said "Howard never loses his, and Ross's, trademark humour, even while tackling some fairly serious subjects."[5]

It was among the top twenty bestsellers in Ireland for 2009.[6]

References
  1. O'Carroll-Kelly, Ross (4 June 2009). We Need To Talk About Ross. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 9780141940519 – via Google Books.
  2. "What people actually want is a book about me . . ". The Irish Times.
  3. Binchy, Chris. "Sociology mingles with parody in a humane portrait of a newly darkened Dublin". The Irish Times.
  4. "Coming to a shelf near you". The Irish Times.
  5. "Will Ross weather the recession?". Independent.ie. 27 June 2009.
  6. Whelan, John (13 December 2009). "'Angry men' beat Bertie on bestseller list". Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
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