Charming Billy: Summary and book reviews of Charming Billy by Alice McDermott, plus links to an excerpt from Charming Billy and a biography of Alice McDermott.
Charming Billy
by Alice McDermott
Hardcover: Jan 1998,
280 pages.
Paperback: Jan 1999,
243 pages.
In a fierce, witty, haunting novel--a masterpiece about the unbreakable bonds of memory and desire--the National Book Award-nominated author of "That Night" tells the story of the late Billy Lynch within the complex matrix of a tightly knit Irish American community, in a voice that is resonant and filled with deep emotion.
BOOK REVIEWS
Media Reviews
Library Journal
With carefully drawn character studies and gentle probing, McDermott, who won the National Book Award for this work, masterfully weaves a subtle but tenacious web of relationships to explore the devastation of alcoholism, the loss of innocence, the daily practice of love, and the redeeming unity of family and friendship.
Kirkus Reviews
A softly resonant and nostalgic tale told so masterfully, so movingly, that it seems to distill a human essence on virtually every page.
The New York Times Book Review - Alida Becker
Alice McDermott's eloquent and unsettling new novel begins with a death--and a distinctly inconvenient resurrection.... Like its title character, McDermott's novel works on our sympathies with an insistent and ingratiating charm.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Paul Charming while being Disarming I found this book in a 2nd hand store in Gladstone, New South Wales (Australia). The owner of the store said a friend had sent it to her from America. I read it and it reminded me of my alcoholic and dysfunctional uncles who have passed away, while... Read More
Rated of 5
by Clare
I kept hoping it would get better and read all the way to the end. It didn't get better and I wasted my time.
War, natural disaster, reckless gods and the recognition of impermanence in the world are just some of the threads that AS Byatt weaves into this most timely of books. Linguistically stunning and imaginatively abundant, this is a landmark.
A beguiling, imaginative, inspiring story about the bigness of being alive as an individual, as a member of a tribe, and as a participant in history, exploring how we use storytelling to survive and shape our own truths.
Brilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants, Margaret Powell's classic memoir of her time in service is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman who, though she served in the great houses of England, never stopped aiming high.
Vivid, daring, and unforgettable, The Printmaker's Daughter shines fresh light on art, loyalty, and the tender and indelible bond between a father and daughter.
I read The Healing in two sittings it is a fascinating story of plantation life at the beginning of the Civil War. Granada, a slave newborn child...
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The New York Times Book Review - Alida Becker
of 5
by Paul
of 5
by Clare
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