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Summary: Great, sad...and also funny
Review: I grew up "lace curtain" Irish in New Hampshire and my compliments of the book have pretty much already been stated better by other reviewers. One thing that few have mentioned, however, is that this book is hilarious as well as thought-provoking. MacDonald has that Irish genius for spotting humour in the gravest situation. That this ability also enables the Irish to deny and repress heinous truths about themselves -and is thus their most empowering strength as well as their most paralyzing weakness- is one of the book's major themes. At the height of anti-busing violence, at the countless funerals for fallen loved ones or in the tense late afternoon streets of the Old Colony project, MacDonald suddenly had me laughing out loud for a moment, then diving again into the anger and pain. I found that my own ability to ride this uniquely Irish roller coaster helped me identify with those sadder and more violent experiences which which I, fortunately, have largely avoided in my own life. I guess I would describe this book as a loving story of a terrible life. I'd recommend it to anyone, and certainly to Irish-Americans of all economic and social strata.
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Summary: good souls go to heaven
Review: captivating details. the only time i put the book down was to wipe the tears streaming down my cheeks. i have a rock in my heart for the mcdonald family and the numerous south boston families that live the "southie life".
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Summary: Through the pain and suffering we survive
Review: I read this book when it first came out...being from Southie and all. This book sent a shiver down my spine...brining back memories of a former life. My friends today don't believe my stories of Southie...this book brought forth the pain and suffering many Southie families experienced...and survived!! The writing is raw...but that is Southie. Great Job Patrick... From A former resident of Old Colony!!!
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Summary: All Souls is a great book
Review: This book has been a good to read because I can relate to it in a lot of ways, like having a bad place to group up and living in fear all the time that you might have a problem walking down the street and getting jumped. I liked the book the story was told in a good first person narrative. Michael MacDonald was a really good person at heart. Even when things got hard he still got the better hand and played with what he had. MacDonald had to deal with a lot of family problems like his brother being put into jail for something he did not do, the loss of his brothers and his sister's coma. I enjoyed the detail he put in this book and how he always stayed on top. I learned a lot about his how life was in Southie and how the people got along with each other. I will remember this book for years to come. In closing, I would like to say read this book if you like a true story. All Souls is a great book.
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Summary: All Souls book review
Review: After reading the book All Souls, I'm writing a review on what I thought of it. The book starts off slow, but it's important that you read it and remember it even if it's kind of boring, it will help you understand the more interesting chapters, which will begin around chapter four. All Souls will take you into the world of Michael Patrick MacDonald, from the time he was a little boy, then into a frustrated young man, and later a community activist for struggling projects like South Boston or Southie the place where he grew up. Southie was "the best place in the world" as everyone who lived would like to say, but in reality it was a deep dark secret of a world being ravaged by drugs, crime, and poverty. They said this kind of thing would only happen in the black projects, that would be a recurrent theme in the book, but put into harsher words. All in all I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to become enlighten to the truth of South Boston and the denial of the white projects.
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Summary: All Souls, all good
Review: I am writing this review after reading the book All Souls. I thought that this book was boring at first because there was no action happening in the first few chapters. The book really didn't start to get interesting until the middle of the book when the busing demonstrations started. When the demonstrations started that's when the book began to get interesting because all the kids from Southie got involved with the demonstrations and started to throw items at buses as they were driving by. After the demonstrations started to calm down that's when the author started to tell us about his family and what happened to his family. The stories that he was telling us lasted for about five chapters then it started to get boring again, but the author kept when attention because of what was happening to his little brother Steven. All together I thought that the book was very good and I would definitely recommend this book to someone.
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Summary: Amazing!
Review: I picked this book up with low expectations of a story of Southie. Boy was I wrong. Growing up near Boston I had heard of the some of these stories but never realized the impact they had on those living in the area. Mr. MacDonald is an amazing writer and a great story-teller. More books please!
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Summary: Guess what everybody is getting for Christmas?
Review: I have just finished this book and I am going to buy everyone on my Christmas shopping list a copy. Growing up south of Boston, I had always heard stories about Southie. Some of the stories were amazing and others were tragic. Michael Patrick MacDonald's writing style and true to life story make this book an absolute hit. I woefully missed Michael speak recently in Boston but hope to hear about other speaking engagements soon.
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Summary: Touching,warming and unforgetable
Review: ALL SOULS is the one book that has really impacted my life. Michael MacDonald's gift to the reader is generosity and compassion. I have been to two book readings of his and he speaks as well as he writes. What distinguishes him is that he is so real, he hasnt let all the fame from the book get to him. What makes him so effective in his work, both writing and activism, is his dedication,passion, and determinism. He is a genuine person who has a genuine concern for people. No other book will ever measure up to the excellence he gives us in ALL SOULS. Michael should be commended for his generousity in sharing the story of his family, which at times was very hard and troubling for him. I can not say enough of this book and this man, he is truly a gifted and eloquent writer whos kindheartedness surpasses all. A must read for everyone...
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Summary: Angela's Ashes Stateside
Review: For a young man in his thirties, Michael Patrick MacDonaldexhibits a rare strong, intelligent, probing voice in thisautobiography of his childhood in the forced-busing 1970's SouthBoston. Readers learn that poverty and tragedy, caused by or atleast exacerbated by Southie's own destructive code of silence and theFBI's refusal to prosecute the 'hood's mafia chief/purveyor ofdrugs/booze/weapons, end up devastating Southie and the author'sfamily. He loses 4 siblings to crime or discrimination. This is NOTa depressing book. It is uplifting in the sense that Angela's Asheswas: the author writes most of the time from his childhood perspective-- one that doesn't know any other world but the one in which he isliving. The family went out of their way to NOT look poor, to thepoint where they would buy shop-lifted designer clothes from a Southie"fence" so that they could look as fashionable as everyoneelse, despite the fact that their mother was a "career"welfare mom. MacDonald has said in interviews that in large part hisbook is about the denial of their poverty and immersion in thedrug/weapon culture he wants readers to understand. There's much, muchmore. I am a Masters student in American & New England Studiesand had to read this book for a class called Ethnicity in America. Ifyou have one book to choose to give you a perspective on how the Irish"assimilated" to the Boston scene, choose this one. Youwon't be able to put it down.
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