Ironweed

Rating:
Summary: modern day classic
Review: I buy books from the used book store and when ever I go there I try to find the "good deals" on some first edition or another collectible from any Noble Prize winner. I had never heard of William Kennedy. (The only Kennedy's I can recall have initials JF etc and were from New England. Unfortunately they did not have the time or energy to write any work of fiction.) So I almost skipped it. The guy standing next to me (I ignored him as another old fart who gives advice since its free) - advice me to buy it and told me that I will not regret spending this 2 dollars. (Well I donate more than that to starbucks every morning). I am glad I took his advice and bought the book. I was right on hooked to the book from the very first line.
The primary character of the book is Billy Phelan, an ex-ball player, full time drunk, part time grave digger, who has hit the rock bottom. Well again what is bottom - something which is half empty to me is half full to somebody else. Bill Phelan realizes the problems of his life but never puts his chin down. You will love the guts of this character. He suffers from his own misdeeds of the past and his past haunts him since he tries to find justification for all his acts except for one act. This one act is his accidental fatal dropping of his infant. Bill never tries to justify that act.
Sometimes that dialogue between Bill and his hobo friends reminded me of "Of Mice and Men" - all the dialogues are remarkable. Bill is like the character of Freddie Mercury (Freddie used to be loud and his acts defined him to certain extent but it was his song which immortalized him. You may not love Freddie but you cannot deny his presence in the music scene) - you can avoid Bill or hate him but you cannot deny his presence. He is like the pole of a magnet either you are attracted or repelled.
I like reading it and will keep it in my collection - hope you will like it too.

Rating:
Summary: AP English
Review: Ironweed by WIlliam Kennedy won an abundance of awards and is on the list of the best 100 books ever written. Many are most likely surprised of the excitement over this book because of the difficulty Kennedy had trying to publish it. Kennedy immortalized the life of Albany in the 1930's, bringing unusual attention to all.

In the novel it discusses survival on an ordinary man whose bad luck brings him to rock bottom causing him to discover in himself on things he can not understand. During Francis Phelan's life he killed a scab driver with a rock, his infant son by holding him by the diaper and accidentally dropping him, and killing an insane bum for self defense.

Throughout the book the people he killed and others are ghost interacting with Francis as in the novel Hamlet.

Overall I felt this was a very well written book and would recommend it for reading on the enjoyment level because of Kennedy's use of real life in the Big Apple during the 1930's.

Rating:
Summary: If there's a thing called "Americana", THIS must be it
Review: This is not my favourite fiction- but I read it, finished it, and loved most of it.

A thin yet juicy work of art, IRONWEED is considered part of great American story-telling. As a reviwer puts it, "(It) is one of the few imperishable products of American literature since the Second World War."

Francis Phelan is back in his hometown of Albany, New York after abandoning it for many years. Now, in 1938, he returned to find himself, make peace with the many ghosts of the past and present, and, ultimately, seek for redemption.

I found Phelan to be uninspiring- but then, who would?, afterall, this guy is a "bum", a full-time drunk, a murderer. Yes, he was once an accomplished ballplayer, but now, and NOW, he is just a "bum". One of the 'greatness' of this book (and there are many) is that William Kennedy was able to present to us a character, so unwanted, so despised, so uninspiring in a way that dignity still is embedded in that character.

Why did he write a story about a bum? Well, I don't know the answer to this question, but I certainly liked the story of this bum's life. (I suppose if you want to read a novel with highly inspiring characters, there is LOVE IN TIME OF CHOLERA)

Written in a style almost plain and unaffecting, IRONWEED is a heart-breaking work that needs one's patience to truly understand the greatness and the dramatic tension of Kennedy's work.

Rating:
Summary: rooting for Francis Phelan
Review: This Pulitzer Prize Winning entry in Kennedy's Albany Cycle of novels tells the story of Francis Phelan, an ex-baseball player, now bum, who is haunted by ghosts in Albany, NY in 1938. Twenty two years earlier Phelan picked up his thirteen day old son by his diaper and the boy slipped to the ground and was killed. He also killed a scab driver during a strike when he beaned him with a rock. In the intervening years, he has taken to the bottle. Now the ghosts of these and other figures from his past are coming back & Francis must try to reconcile with their spirits and with the remaining members of his family.

I happen to have recently read Sophie's Choice & Beloved (see review) which also deal with parental guilt over culpability for a childs death. I found them both to be hopeless. This book, on the contrary, like Fearless by Rafael Yglesias, offers hope of redemption and the reader inevitably ends up rooting for Francis Phelan and hoping he can exorcise the demons that drive him.

GRADE: A