- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Penguin; Reprint edition (26 Aug 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140138986
- ISBN-13: 978-0140138986
- Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 12 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,529,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The Phelan clan has gathered for a most unusual event: the reading of Peter Phelan's will - by Peter himself. But the Phelans have always been a bit eccentric, larger-than-life in both their sins and their salvations.
In this extraordinary novel, William Kennedy chronicles the complex, moving, and sometimes hilarious saga of a hard-pressed, hard-drinking Irish-American family. From Malachi, the nineteenth-century patriarch whose religious fervor drove him to the ultimate sin; to Francis, Peter's self-exiled brother (and hero of "Ironweed" ); to Orson - half insider, half outsider, teetering on the brink of madness - the Phelans come vibrantly to life.
Weaving together the seperate but interlocking threads that make up the Phelan tapestry, Kennedy captures in lyrical langauge the boundaries of love and redemption, of art, and of life itself.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
One of my favorite books. Reads like an old friend. It is a thrill to read his Albany series, as the books relate to each other. Just like a family conversation, one sentance may relate to a person or event from a previous book in which you know the whole story. Read this one first, then any of the others.
Format:Paperback
William Kennedy is one of America's best living writers. This is far away his best book. Although it shares characters and events with other books in Kennedy's 'Albany Series', its not necessary to have read any of Kennedy's previous work to enjoy Very Old Bones. Kennedy's greatest skill is in his dialogue. He allows his characters to speak for themselves, rather than mouth his own intentions. As a result, his work gives wonderful insight into one family, one city, and one point in time. Despite the fact that his most recent work, The Flaming Corsage, was a waste of paper, Kennedy will one day be the deserving winner of a Nobel Prize. After reading Very Old Bones go back and read the jury's commentary on the Nobel Prize given to John Steinbeck. Their words could just as easily been written about Kennedy. His is a fine American voice.
Format:Paperback
A wonderfully written book about family ties and the effects of ancestors on future generations. The subject matter was somewhat disturbing . The Phelan clan is very disfunctional. As the story unwinds we see the possitive but mostly negative results of their disfunctional life. Orson the bastard son , in search for his identity. Peter , Orson's father and his unacceptance of Orson. Malachi the most disfunctional of them all. The story unfolds to tell the lives of all the relatives. The family had many heart aches though they were not shared. Most of the family members had their personal problems . I feel most of the disfunction was rooted in their past. Very well written, at times raunchy, at other times touching. This book is a serious read. You must give it full attention or you can get off track fast. This is not a book that you can skip a chapter and still follow. This is the first book I have read by William Kennedy but now I will want to read "Ironweed" to read more about the Phelan clan.
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