Roddy Doyle's use of the first person narrative voice allows us to access Paddy’s feelings and his disjointed thoughts. The characters' Irish accent and natural speech make the novel seem realistic.
Despite being a child, Paddy’s narrative is full of interesting imagery.
In showing Paddy’s worries as his parents’ arguing intensifies, Doyle uses a simileA comparison using 'like' or 'as' to create a vivid image, eg as big as a whale; float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. when he describes how "Their fights were like a train that kept getting stuck at the corner tracks and you had to lean over and push it or straighten it.”
This imagery effectively conveys how their fights seemed to go over the same things continuously, but the simile is also one that a child might realistically use as it is related to a toy train.
Part of Doyle’s skill is keeping the childish voice realistic, but also integrating colourful and engaging imagery into the narrative.