Rating: 
Summary: Confusing
Review: I picked this book merely because of the prize that it won, and I knew nothing of the author or what I was getting into. Having said that, let me now say that I don't really understand why this book is so good that it won the National Book Award. Yes, it does show real life and detail exactly the pain and suffering alcoholism causes in the afflicted and his or her loved ones. At the same time, the lack of a constant timeline and the uncertainty of just who the narrator was most of the time made the book difficult to follow. I wasn't exactly drawn in by the writing style--the lack of sentence subjects and the sometimes overdrawn conversational paragraphs that had no real speaker were quite annoying. In all truth, I had a hard time reading this book and had to force myself to finish it. I think it a good subject, and perhaps for those of a more literary mind, it would be satisfying, but for me, who unfortunately struggles to read the classics, this was anything but a charming read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not charmed at all
Review: Not one person in our book club (9 members) liked this book. It was confusing, depressing and pointless.
Rating: 
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: I found the book to be very gripping. I enjoyed the different perspectives of the events each character had to offer. It was almost as if you were there watching the characters. I found the book both entertaining and well written and I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe It Helps To Be Irish
Review: Seemingly endless blather about a self-pitying alcholic and his dishonest friend. Interesting use of narrator to create a patchwork quilt of a story which jumps around quite a bit, going off on tangents and then looping back to pick up threads left hanging. I would imagine that this novel may deeply affect those who can recognize some of themselves or their family here, but for those who do not come from this background the motivations are difficult to follow, much less understand. Some great psychological insights but they do not weave together into a cohesive whole, but rather seem like little gems sparkling in the muck. McDermott can write well but in the end I asked myself, "Who cares?"
Rating:
Summary: B-O-R-I-N-G
Review: I tried and tried to read this book but kept going to sleep, finally gave up and moved on with my life. The sameness of it all was overwhelming. From reading the other reviews I guess the only hope for enjoyment is if one is from New York and I am not.
Rating:
Summary: You gotta be from New York...
Review: Charming Billy by Alice McDermottI read this book because (a) Alice McDermott's son was attending the same high school as my son and I thought if I ran into her, I would like to have read her book. (b) It won a critical award (The National Book Award? The Pulitizer? I don't remember) and (c) because my husband loved it. My husband is from New York; that must explain it. It was beautifully written; that explains (b). I never ran into her. I was vaguely depressed by the story, but not involved enough to care.
Rating:
Summary: Painfully beautiful
Review: I decided to read this again for a more substantive acknowledgement of St. Patrick's Day. Again, I found myself emotionally moved by this trully touching and profound work. While all McDermott's works speak with a distinctly metropolitan New York Irish Catholic voice I have found this novel almost eerie in how precisely it represents this subculture. She reflects a thorough understanding of the group's psyche: its dreams, fears, strengths, prejudices, passions, and most importantly its weaknesses. The author shows uncanny skill in assessing character through observations which convincingly depict the motivations that inspire behavior. Her prose is both beautiful and profoundly insightful, in a characteristically understated Irish fashion. Reading "Charming Billy" for me was unsettling. I felt as if McDermott was describing my family and the others with whom I grew up, revealing both those things we hid as well as those of we were proud. While this novel makes your heart ache its tremendous beauty is deeply satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: Charming billy
Review: Didn't like it at all. Put it down afetr reading abour 100 pages.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry, but I loved it
Review: Well, there's nothing like a good literary disagreement. The posts for this novel are really amazing, with plenty of one- and five-star opinions and equal passion from both camps. As for me, I loved it. I think if you're assigned the book in a classroom and have no particular interest to begin with, you might have a problem with it. And if you're below college age, it might not be for you. McDermott appeals not to much to the intelligence of the average reader as to the patience of a mature reader, and I don't think all that much patience is really required, either. By the end of the first section, with its astonishing verisimilitude for a particular time and place, and the neat little surprise twist at the end, I was hooked the rest of the way. And somewhere in the middle, while describing a rainy Irish funeral, she uses one parenthetical simile to describe the sound of the rain on the umbrellas that was so powerful I had to put the book down. It's worth reading just for that moment alone.
Rating:
Summary: A great story...
Review: ...about how we sometimes lie to others and to ourselves to avoid pain. Written with flare and respect for human frailty.
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