Define Epithetical Books Ironweed (The Albany Cycle #3)
| Title | : | Ironweed (The Albany Cycle #3) |
| Author | : | William Kennedy |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 208 pages |
| Published | : | September 30th 2004 by Simon & Schuster Ltd (first published 1983) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. Literature. Classics. Novels. American. Literary Fiction |
William Kennedy
Paperback | Pages: 208 pages Rating: 3.86 | 15300 Users | 677 Reviews
Narration In Favor Of Books Ironweed (The Albany Cycle #3)
Francis Phelan, ex-ballplayer, part-time gravedigger, full-time drunk, has hit bottom. Years ago he left Albany in a hurry after killing a scab during a trolley workers' strike. He ran away again after accidentally -- and fatally -- dropping his infant son. Now, in 1938, Francis is back in town, roaming the old familiar streets with his hobo pal, Helen, trying to make peace with the ghosts of the past and the present.
Itemize Books Supposing Ironweed (The Albany Cycle #3)
| Original Title: | Ironweed |
| ISBN: | 0743263065 (ISBN13: 9780743263061) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | The Albany Cycle #3 |
| Setting: | Albany, New York(United States) New York State(United States) |
| Literary Awards: | Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1984), PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Nominee (1984), National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction (1983) |
Rating Epithetical Books Ironweed (The Albany Cycle #3)
Ratings: 3.86 From 15300 Users | 677 ReviewsPiece Epithetical Books Ironweed (The Albany Cycle #3)
Stunning. Absorbing. Heartbreaking. Easily the best novel I've read in years. Each book in Kennedy's Albany Trilogy is worth your attention but the final novel, Ironweed, is the tour de force that will leave you at once thoughtful, enriched, and somber. Guess them Pulitzer Prize folks know their game, alright.I can add another Pulitzer Prize winner to my list of READ PULITZER PRIZES. I may feel differently about this book later, but as of today I can give it three stars. It is a powerful book with a powerful message, kind of a "live and let live" philosophy in that I, Francis Phelan, have fucked up my life royally and all I have is my grief, so don't take that away from me. It is a very sad story as well, with portions of poignancy that make you want to grab Francis and tell him that his family is
Ironweed ReviewIronweed is the story of Francis Phelan, a homeless man trying to survive on the streets of the American city of Albany during the Great Depression. Francis recalls Gerald, the baby son he accidentally dropped, who died of his injuries. Memories of three other men Francis killed during his life take on a physical reality. They come back as hallucinations to chat about life and matters arising. A lot of the book consists of rambling conversations between Francis and other people
"Go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company."-Mark Twain"Ironweed" is chilly, bloody, thrilling, darkly-comic; and far from a crime novel. William Kennedy radiates those adjectives seemingly without any intention to do so. There aren't any mysteries, villains in a traditional sense (and DEFINITELY no heroes) and the action, even when it's colored in whiskey and guts, swarms on in a somewhat mellow, true-to-life pace, an understated rhythm that mimics earth's true tempo. A clock doesn't
I was always interested in reading this after learning that William Kennedy was a friend of Hunter S. Thompson. I was surprised to learn this was written in the 1980s because the dialogue reminded me so much of the "hobo literature" of earlier times; most notably You Can't Win by Jack Black.The story opens in Albany on Halloween, 1938 [the night of the infamous Orson Welles radio broadcast] with Francis Phelan digging graves as a casual laborer to earn enough money for drink and a flop. As
I first read Ironweed over 30 years ago; I'm glad I read it again with more years under my belt--because age has allowed me to understand and possibly empathize with Francis, the damaged protagonist of this gritty novel. The Depression-era setting is bleak and squalid. Francis lives violently. He sees ghosts from his past. He goes home. He takes care of Helen. But does he forgive himself for the accident that killed his infant son? The ethereal brutality of Kennedy's novel is striking--a
Ironweed is the third book of William Kennedy's Albany series which focuses on the character Francis Phelan, father of the protagonist of his previous book Billy Phelan's Greatest Game and referring at times to events in the first book of this series, Legs. It won the Pulitzer in 1984 beating out Cathedral by Raymond Carver and The Feud by Thomas Berger, neither of which I have read yet. I think it was an unusual choice for the committee, and actually preferred Billy Phelan's Greatest Game.
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