View source for We Need to Talk About Ross

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox book
| name             = We Need To Talk About Ross
| title_orig       =
| translator       =
| image            = Ross-need.jpg
| caption    =
| author           = [[Paul Howard (journalist)|Paul Howard]]
| illustrator      = Alan Clarke
| cover_artist     = Alan Clarke
| country          = Ireland
| language         = English
|title_working=We Need to Talk About Ross: A True History of the O'Carroll-Kelly Gang
| series           = [[Ross O'Carroll-Kelly]]
| subject          =
| genre            = [[Metafiction]]
| publisher        = [[Penguin Books]]
| pub_date         = 3 June 2009
| english_pub_date =
| media_type       = Paperback
|set_in=[[Dublin]], 2008
| pages            = 236
| isbn             = 978-1-84488-179-6
| oclc             =
| dewey            = 823.92
| congress         =
| preceded_by      =
| followed_by      =
}}
'''''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 (journalist)|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]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qwQXBaxi_70C|title=We Need To Talk About Ross|first=Ross|last=O'Carroll-Kelly|date=4 June 2009|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=9780141940519|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/what-people-actually-want-is-a-book-about-me-1.773039|title=What people actually want is a book about me . . .|newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref>
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 (fiction)|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."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/sociology-mingles-with-parody-in-a-humane-portrait-of-a-newly-darkened-dublin-1.777671|title=Sociology mingles with parody in a humane portrait of a newly darkened Dublin|first=Chris|last=Binchy|newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref> In the same paper, Arminta Wallace named it as the best [[memoir]] of the year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/coming-to-a-shelf-near-you-1.1231989|title=Coming to a shelf near you|newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref>
In the ''[[Irish Independent]]'', [[Anne Marie Scanlon]] said "Howard never loses his, and Ross's, trademark humour, even while tackling some fairly serious subjects."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/will-ross-weather-the-recession-26546807.html|title=Will Ross weather the recession?|website=Independent.ie|date=27 June 2009 }}</ref>
It was among the top twenty bestsellers in Ireland for 2009.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/angry-men-beat-bertie-on-bestseller-list-26591000.html|title='Angry men' beat Bertie on bestseller list|newspaper=Irish Independent|first=John|last=Whelan|date=13 December 2009|accessdate=18 April 2022}}</ref>
==References==
<references/>
{{Ross O'Carroll-Kelly}}
[[Category:2009 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Penguin Books books]]
[[Category:Ross O'Carroll-Kelly]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 2008]]