Rating: 
Summary: Not what it could have been
Review: Sometimes the books that are showered with awards and drip with critical praise are the ones that disappoint you the most. It's not that "Charming Billy" is a poorly written novel. Far from it. Alice McDermott is clearly a very strong writer whose prose and dialogue are finely crafted. It's just that the storyline in this book seems to have so much promise, yet never really goes anywhere.Our protagonist, Billy Lynch, loses his fiancée to pneumonia and spends the rest of his life drinking himself to death to assuage his pain. The book begins at his wake and then hip-hops around, filling in the blanks of his oh-so-melancholy life. Sometimes it's difficult to keep track of all the characters in Billy's sprawling, Irish-American family. But a few notes that I jotted down as I read the book definitely helped sort out all of the confusion. Most of the characters are developed very nicely. But some are glossed over, like the narrator (Billy's cousin's daughter) and a fellow named Danny Lynch (and how exactly is he related to Billy?). If you enjoyed reading Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes," you might want to give "Charming Billy" a read. It's well written, poignant, and surely has a message. But if you're expecting a little (just a little) action, a plot twist here and there, or even a bona fide tear-jerker, this book may not be for you. Despite its strong points, "Charming Billy," just like the life of the book's hero, is not what it could have been.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully Written
Review: "Charming Billy" is not an extremely ambitious book, and it's certainly not a book that hits you over the head with sheer genius. It is, instead, simply an old-fashioned good book. It's story is simple, it's prose is gorgeous, it's characters are believable... It's just good. And the last chapter is especially lovely. Alice McDermott's beautiful and luminous prose is the most noticeable aspect of the book. Her writing is stylistically straightforward, and is characterized by excellent dialogue, careful description, and a heartbreaking subtlety of emotion. Despite it's depressing subject matter, the book has a quiet and peaceful feeling. All in all, I found it to be a lovely, refreshing read.
Rating:
Summary: Confusing and Tragic
Review: Again, this was a book that I would not have read if I was to pick it on my own sheer will. I read it for a writing group, and can not figure out why this book was chosen. The characters were unclear, the scenes flip flopping without warning and sometimes I was not aware that things changed until several paragraphs later. The reader is constantly being forced back and forth from present day to reminisces of days gone by without clearly seeing them come (or go!). And most off, it took quite a bit of time for me to realize that the narrator was a woman. We never even learn her name. Despite this, the driving force to keep reading was to learn more about how Billy coped with the loss of Eva, the love of his younger drinking years. And as a bonus, this book did not focus solely on how rotton drunks are, but rather conveyed how tragic it is that they fall victim to it.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT SO CHARMING BILLY...
Review: I am amazed that this book won the National Book Award in 1998. While the author's prose is lush and evocative of times gone by and captures the flavor of lower middle class life among a tightly knit group of Irish Americans in Queens, New York, it easily loses the reader's interest despite some of its complex themes and occasional poignancy. Quite frankly, it is a somewhat dull book with little to redeem it, as the title character is anything but charming. Billy is nothing more than a self-absorbed boozer who eventually drinks himself to death. The reader ends up not caring a whit for Billy. What is at the core of his problem? Only that when Billy was young, he fell in love with an Irish girl named Eva who returned to Ireland. He planned to marry her and sent her five hundred dollars to pay for her return trip back to the states. Instead, she stayed in Ireland, married someone else, and used Billy's money to better her personal circumstances. When Billy's cousin found out the truth, he made the momentous decision of telling Billy that Eva had died, so as to spare his feelings. His cousin's decision to tell this falsehood, turned out to be a life defining moment for Billy. He eventually entered into a loveless, sterile marriage, worked two jobs, and drank himself into a stupor just about every chance he got. After his premature death, everyone at the wake reminisces about Billy. These other characters, in general, lead dismal, insular lives, and none seem to have any redeeming grace about them. They are as pathetic as Billy in their own ways. They also reminisce about the Irish girl. This is dispositive of how empty a life Billy led that a summer romance of his from some thirty years prior would be rehashed ad nauseum. Quite frankly, there is not all that much to say about this sad sack of a man. What is said is often repetitious and trite.
This unabridged audiobook is narrated by Roses Prichard, one of the worst readers I have ever heard on audiotape. How she was ever given the green light to read this book is beyond me. At times, she is almost unintelligible. At best, her voice is grating and annoying, and when she puts on an Irish brogue she is nigh unbearable. To compound the problem, the book shifts timelines so often that, at times, it is a bit confusing and has a somewhat jarring effect. This audiobook deserves three stars for content and one star for its narration. This translates into a final rating of two stars.
Rating:
Summary: National Book Award?
Review: I bought this book because I happened to see an interview with the author after she had just won the National Book Award. I totally agree with Reader from Vermont who thought that this was hardly worth the award. Go read Wally Lamb!
Rating: 
Summary: Captures Irish Heartbreak and Struggle with "the Drink"
Review: A wonderfully sad, yet compelling story of an Irish family in America. McDermott knows her subject quite well and her ability to portray how alcohol becomes a living thing, especially in an Irish family, is moving. You feel your frustration build with Billy and the interaction the rest of the family has with him yet, you never stop rooting for him, all the while knowing your cheers are fruitless.
This is not a light story about how strong character triumphs over adversity. It is about the pain and destruction of secrets, guilt and alcohol and their deleterious effect on everyone who is touched even slightly.
Rating:
Summary: I Loved It
Review: The way the characters interplayed - how one man's sympathetic mistake affected his best friend's life - the way the first person narrative wasn't restricted to what one person could know - the reasons people get married and the paths our lives take seemingly against our wills. IT'S LIFE. That's it. So some people have boring lives and some people drink themselves to death and even their stories are worthwhile. OK, if you're used to reading [junk] like Ken Follett and John Grishom write, then, no, this isn't "up to your speed" as far as exploding plots and exagerrated characters. But if you like character development and a good story -- say like Edith Wharton and Henry James wrote -- then read this book! I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Alice McDermott knows her craft
Review: Having heard that members of my book club found this book "hard to read," I was prepared for the worst. What a surprise to find myself completely absorbed by the characters and their lives from the exquisitely crafted first pages. It is a writer's dream as the novel uses many conventions and poetic descriptions which made everyone come alive. I found it much more appealing that Angela's Ashes. Maybe because it takes place in America and maybe because it focuses on immigrants and their descendents -- a group I am part of. Even though I am of Italian descent instead of Irish, I found many of the situations universal. I grew up with many Irish and number many among my closest friends so it gave me even more insight about this wonderful group and their love for one another, their loyalty and the pain of the alcoholism that plagues them. The alcoholism was handled in such a knowledgeable way; I know first hand what it is like to live with and know alcoholics. They are maddeningly charming and intelligent and so much in pain. The book captured all that. As a writer, I am inspired. As a reader, I am captivated and have placed this book among my all time favorites. I usually offer books to others to read. Not this one. This is a treasure and I will reread it many times. The stream of consciousness is not my most loved style, but McDermott used it very effectively and did not over use it as the author of Angela's Ashes did. I understand fully why it won a prize and why English teachers are assigning it; but I believe one must be a mature person to read and appreciate this very big slice of life as shown through several generations. A gem!
Rating: 
Summary: Truly Boring
Review: This is the first book that I set aside without finishing. I'm at a loss as to how it won a National Book Award. I have no problem with the structure - it is a pointless book with no plot and uninteresting characters.
Rating:
Summary: Slamming Billy!
Review: This certainly makes my list for 2002 worse reads. After 80 pages, I've given up (and it's a short novel!) The author's writing style displays a certain skill with the craft, however; her craftiness is wasted on a dull story line and even more dull characters. I found the pace languid which made a challenging writing style an even more laborious read. The novel opens with a scene from Billy's repast. Billy appears to be a gentle drunk whose life ended long before alcoholism killed him. During the repast, family and friends recall aspects of Billy's life, setting the stage for a more detailed portrayal of his life and the circumstances that lead him to abuse alcohol. Unfortunately, Billy life (at least the first 80 pages) bored me completely. I'm not certain of the criteria used by the National Book Award committee to select its winners but this story has very little appeal. Based on the average rating here and conversation with others who've attempted the book (I have yet to talk to anyone who has actually completed it) it doesn't appear that I'm alone in my assessment. Can't recommend this one.
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