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The Importance of Being Kennedy
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Review
'Her story has the feeling of being more alive and more revealing than any biography…with energetic pace, witty dialogue and vividly drawn characters' Guardian
'Deftly mingles comedy and sorrow, producing a serious pleasure of a novel that is both poignant and entertaining.' Penny Perrick, Sunday Times
'One of Graham's undoubted strengths is the way she seamlessly blends fact and fiction. Real people, including the cream of British aristocracy, are portrayed with as much colour and verve as the fictional characters. This is an entertaining addition to the Kennedy canon, one that goes behind the public smiles to conjure up the petty jealousies and divided loyalties that plague every family. It also gives a fictional voice to two forgotten women whose troubled lives are almost completely overshadows by the Kennedy legend.' The Herald
'This is a very entertaining, often funny book, thanks to Graham's perceptive eye and deadpan wit.' The Gloss Magazine
'Brilliant novel by Laurie Graham. Narrated by her Irish nursemaid, this is a beautifully observed novel with the humour and candour you'd expect from the author of “The Ten O'Clock Horses”.' Bella
'”The Importance of Being Kennedy” could just prove the perfect sun-lounger read.' Sunday Business Post
‘A vivid, creative storyteller.’ Judith Flanders, Times Literary Supplement
Sunday Times
`entertaining...through Nora's exuberant Irish brogue, Graham pays as much attention to the less well-known siblings'.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is Laurie Graham's best book to date, with a great ear for the Irish sense of humour, and turns of phrase. The Kennedys are seen through the eyes of their Irish staff, who have a less than reverential view of the embryonic American First Family. Joe and Rose Kennedy are shown to be distant to their children, even while they push all of them to succeed, with the well-known disastrous consequences. I've read many non-fiction books about the Kennedy family, and none seemed to give such a genuine insight into their collective psyche.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I didn't want this book to end. My first foray into the works of Laurie Graham (but assuredly not my last...) was a delight from start to finish - and I confess I eked out the last few pages so as to make the enjoyment last. I suppose one might describe this unusual book as a 'non-fiction novel'.
I was nineteen years old when my hero JFK was murdered and I guess it was on the cards that this story of his and his eight siblings' Boston childhood and young adulthood would grab me from page one. Nora Brennan, a young Irish immigrant to America is employed as nursemaid when millionaire bootlegger and Hollywood entrepreneur Joseph Kennedy and his young wife Rose produce the first of their brood, and she stays with the ever-increasing family for many years.
The book is told from Nora's point of view and Ms Graham captures beautifully Nora's special Irish outlook on life, her sense of humour and her wonderful turn of phrase. Nora's opinions on Mrs Kennedy alone are worth the price of admission.....
As someone who has read her fair share of books about the Kennedy family, I take my hat off to Ms Graham's meticulous research. Interestingly, the book does not dwell too much on Jack, which would, perhaps have been the obvious road to take. No, it focuses largely on Kathleen the second daughter, known to her family as 'Kick' - and on her elder sister, Rosemary. The stories of these two girls would, I think, bring a tear to the driest eye.
As I said, I really didn't want the book to end, and the ending, when it came, was poignant and bitter-sweet and the final sentence stayed with me for days.
I was nineteen years old when my hero JFK was murdered and I guess it was on the cards that this story of his and his eight siblings' Boston childhood and young adulthood would grab me from page one. Nora Brennan, a young Irish immigrant to America is employed as nursemaid when millionaire bootlegger and Hollywood entrepreneur Joseph Kennedy and his young wife Rose produce the first of their brood, and she stays with the ever-increasing family for many years.
The book is told from Nora's point of view and Ms Graham captures beautifully Nora's special Irish outlook on life, her sense of humour and her wonderful turn of phrase. Nora's opinions on Mrs Kennedy alone are worth the price of admission.....
As someone who has read her fair share of books about the Kennedy family, I take my hat off to Ms Graham's meticulous research. Interestingly, the book does not dwell too much on Jack, which would, perhaps have been the obvious road to take. No, it focuses largely on Kathleen the second daughter, known to her family as 'Kick' - and on her elder sister, Rosemary. The stories of these two girls would, I think, bring a tear to the driest eye.
As I said, I really didn't want the book to end, and the ending, when it came, was poignant and bitter-sweet and the final sentence stayed with me for days.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After the ghastly Gone with the Windsors this book is a terrific return to form. Nora (the narrator) is hired as nursemaid to Joe and Rose Kennedy's ever increasing brood and her irreverent comments on the family are wonderful. It's worth reading, however, for that final sad sentence which stuck with me long after I'd closed the book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant!
This book operates on several levels and weaves together a complex tapestry of themes - some fictional, others historical truths. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Dr. E. McMillan
Excellent book. Very interesting.
I knew little about the famous Kennedy Family prior to reading this book, but now I can understand [and agree with] Laurie Graham's view that there was indeed a "Kennedy curse" and... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Ms. K. J. Waghorn
a real gem of a story
I loved this book,I really did not want it to end the writing was easy to read and you could be completely absorbed in the whole story. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Angela Anderson
Disappointing
Although this is a book of ficition, I was expecting a blend of a history about the Kennedys and a great plot. Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2009
Book
It is difficult to write a review as the book was a present and we have not seen the receivee since. Read more
Published on 24 Mar 2009 by Hal
The novel that reads like a biography
I have a bit of antipathy towards the Kennedy family for various reasons, so I didn't expect to enjoy this book half as much as I eventually did. Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2009 by Psyche Out
A little masterpiece.
This is the first Laurie Graham book I have read. I've always had an interest in the Kennedy story and have read many factual accounts on their family history. Read more
Published on 31 July 2008 by Michael63
Hugely entertaining - shame it had to end!
Having read Future Homemakers of America and enjoying it, I thought I'd try another book by Laurie Graham and she is now a firm favourite with me. Read more
Published on 14 July 2008 by UK reader
A must read for all fans of the kennedy's.
This is so well composed you find yourself reading it with an Irish accent.
The story is told in first person through the eyes of Nora Brennan, a trusted and valued... Read more
The story is told in first person through the eyes of Nora Brennan, a trusted and valued... Read more
Published on 5 Jun 2008 by shabbychic
Another Gem
I loved this book, almost as much as her previous book. Laurie Graham has a knack for funny and poignant re-examinations of historical figures; in this case the Kennedys. Read more
Published on 18 May 2008 by D. Nothdruft
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