Don't Look Back in Ongar
{{short description|2024 book by Paul Howard}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Don't Look Back in Ongar
| image = Don't Look Back in Ongar cover.webp
| author = Paul Howard
| illustrator = Alan Clarke
| cover_artist = Alan Clarke
| country =Republic of Ireland
|genre=Comic novel, satire
| pages = 320
| language = English
| media_type = Print: paperback
| series = Ross O'Carroll-Kelly
| published =22 August 2024, Penguin
| preceded_by = Camino Royale
|dewey=823.92
|set_in =Dublin, 2019-20
| isbn = 9781844886296
| followed_by =
}}
Don't Look Back in Ongar is a 2024 comic novel by Irish playwright and author Paul Howard and is the twenty-fourth and last novel in the Ross O'Carroll-Kelly series.{{Cite book|url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/453922/dont-look-back-in-ongar-by-ocarroll-kelly-ross/9781844886296|title=Don't Look Back in Ongar|first=Ross|last=O'Carroll-Kelly|date=29 August 2024 |via=www.penguin.co.uk}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books-arts/book-news/ross-ocarroll-kelly-d4-satire-book-series-to-end-after-24-years-with-final-book-release/a1662430290.html|title=Ross O’Carroll-Kelly D4 satire book series to end after 24 years with final book release|date=31 May 2024|website=Irish Independent}}
The title refers to the song "Don't Look Back in Anger" (and possibly the nostalgic Virgin Media TV series) and the Dublin suburb of Ongar.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/don-t-look-back-in-ongar|title=Don't Look Back in Ongar ebook by Ross O'Carroll-Kelly|website=Rakuten Kobo}}
Release
The novel was released on 22 August 2024.{{Cite web|url=https://www.alanhannas.com/Don%E2%80%99t-Look-Back-in-Ongar-Ross-OCarroll-Kelly-24_9781844886296|title=Alan Hanna's Bookshop, Dublin. Ross O'Carroll-Kelly Untitled 24}}{{Cite web|url=https://evoke.ie/2024/05/31/news/ross-ocarroll-kelly-final-novel|title=Ross O'Carroll-Kelly Bids Farewell In Final Novel|date=31 May 2024}}
Plot
Ross is turning forty, and his wife Sorcha still wants a divorce, and his father is causing trouble in Áras an Uachtaráin, while his son Ronan is working for villainous lawyer Hennessy. His mother Fionnuala, who has Alzheimer's, is placed in a luxury nursing home in Ongar.{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/we-thank-ross-ocarroll-kelly-for-the-laughs-as-he-bows-out-with-a-midlife-swansong/a1354363268.html|title=We thank Ross O’Carroll-Kelly for the laughs as he bows out with a midlife swansong|date=23 August 2024|website=Irish Independent}}
Reviews
The Irish Times described the finale as "unexpectedly touching."{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/review/2024/08/24/dont-look-back-in-ongar-ross-ocarroll-kelly-says-an-emotional-unexpectedly-touching-farewell/|title=Don’t Look Back in Ongar: Ross O’Carroll-Kelly says an emotional, unexpectedly touching farewell|website=The Irish Times}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Ross O'Carroll-Kelly}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dont Look Back in Ongar}}