Rating: 
Summary: there must be more
Review: this book seems incomplete and i feel cheated. there must bemore to the story. what parts are left out? maybe tommysdad will writea book telling his "personal truth". can society be to blame for the poor choices "the kids" made? was steven truthful in denying responsibilty for tommys death? afterall he was convicted twice. other than chronicling the carnage of drugs, dispair and neglect i don't see any solutions advanced by mr macdonald. at this price i expected more. i am glad that teenaged reader from southies friends took comfort but the attack of tommysdad seems unfair
Rating: 
Summary: just the facts please
Review: THE PEOPLE THAT KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPENED KNOW SO DON'T KID YOURSELF AS FAR AS THE READER FROM SOUTHIE I KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU SEE IN THE MIRROR. AT LEAST TOMMYSDAD SON IN PRISON ADMITS TO HIS CRIME AND DOESN'T BLAME THE WORLD OR EVEN YOUR BROTHER STEVEN
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Summary: All Souls changes lives
Review: As a southie teenager, I can say that this book is all about the truth. I know a lot of friends whose lives were changed by this book. It's all the truth, and anyone (tommysdad) who has a problem with it, has a problem with himself, and needs to look in the mirror, and at his own violent son who is in jail. What is Southie Pride anyway? Stabbing someone who is from somewhere else? I hope in the future it's about telling the truth and being part of the bigger world.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting and infuriating
Review: This book was interesting, yet difficult to read. The author's conversational style was hard to follow at first. I felt great sympathy for the children of these projects. But although the US welfare system "encourages" having more children, I could not get over the fact that this woman brought ten children into this environment. Ten! I could not feel sympathy for someone who continually made poor choices. Moreover, I agree with one other reviewer that said the author and his family take little or no responsibility for their own misery. I cannot imagine that growing up in Southy was a day at the park, but we all have minds of our own and we can all make choices. Despite my grievances, I am glad I read this book. I learned more about Southy from another person's perspective.
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Summary: all souls half truths
Review: this book is not the author's story nor is it by and large not even factual. I pointed these facts out to the publisher before its release and was told it represents the authors "personal truth". I have personal knowledge of the facts would classify this book as rumor, gossip and lies. The author in point of fact moved to South Boston, was eight years old at the start of busing and spent most of his time "hanging" outside of Southie. His family is far from the typical southie family and never exhibted any "Southie Pride" Most of the names in this book are fiticious and the the events attached to them have occured mostly in the authors mind. Having talked to most of the real people in the book I was not surprised to find that they were not even asked permission to have their "stories" told. All seems fair game when it comes to reaping profit from the pain of others. The author goes to great lenths to minimize any responibility his family had for their own misery, instead excuses are made, conspiriracies are hatched and falsehoods are advanced. Many people have endured adversity in their lives, some have lost the battle while others continue to struggle. In any case most have moved on with their lives. I find this book personally and morally offensive.
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Summary: Not Just For Irish-Americans From South Boston
Review: All Souls is a gripping read right from the start: it grabs you in a headlock and won't let you go until you cry uncle. It works on many different levels: as one man's family history, as the history of a small community, as a comment on social class and racial relations, urban poverty, and more. I tell you I always thought Southies were born violent and avoided them when possible and knocked them on their asses when not. MacDonald reveals them to be more than just toughs, racists, and thugs: they're as diverse as his own family, as diverse as America itself.
Rating:
Summary: The most important book I've read in years
Review: Comparing All Souls to Frank McCourt, is like reviewing a film by an African American director and having to mention Spike Lee. All Souls stands on its own. It uses a brilliantly unique voice, with its own intention for the world. MacDonald and McCourt are both Irish and grew up poor, but MacDonald's book, rather than being another beautiful romanticised memoir about a safely distant Irish poverty of the past, is distinctly about American poverty and life in a contemporary urban ghetto. Unlike Angela's Ashes, poor kids in the South Bronx who are Black and Latino can read MacDonald's account of growing up in an Irish housing project, and know exactly what he is talking about. Because this book, more than being about anything Irish, is about class in contemporary America. All Souls' straight-forward use of irony and humor makes for a beautiful read that can teach us all how to live, and encourage us all to work for change in our racist AND classist American society.
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Summary: For the worlds more full of weeping.....
Review: What Mr. MacDonald lacks in terms of compelling and literateirony, evoked by the inevitable comparisons to Frank McCourt, he makesup for in deadpan accuracy, accessibility and earthy humanity. Macdonald's stark account of growing up in the insular urban neighborhood of "Southie" is a fascinating glimpse into a corner of American society that has hitherto been largely maligned, exploited and served up to feed an insatiable middle class appetite for illustrations of moral authority. Having myself grown up in a housing project (not far from Mr. MacDonald's) I can appreciate and immediately understand the images he evokes and the lines he draws in his story. And, by virtue of my experience, I have a deeper sense of the shadows that he has left out that give his story its fascinating and tragic power. Housing projects are pretty much the bottom rung of the ladder of America's so called classless social order. They are the places where people of little or no means scramble for limited resources. Elderly people with little or no family gather to live out the remainder of their days under siege by the local youth that seem to thrive on terrorizing the helpless. Young unwed mothers (many children themselves) gather to eke a life in the face of overwhelming deprivation. The density and preponderance of people afflicted with alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental illness add to an already palpable sense of entropy. The culture of violence, the disdain of the working class, the manipulations of politicians and gangsters, the inaccessible excess of a bustling and encroaching Downtown Boston all contribute to a volatile melting pot that marks its denizens in unpredictable ways. I do not know Mr. MacDonald personally, but after having read this book I can safely say that I know an essential part of him. I can almost envision his memories of family life in Old Colony. Of his siblings bustling in and out of the old heavy metal apartment door with its tiny peephole and massive brass lock, of its musical clanging of steam pipes and unregulated radiators oppressive heat. Of open windows letting in a comforting breeze and the accompanying sounds of barking dogs, breaking glass, screaming mothers and aggressive kids. I can see Michael sitting in his living room in the middle of this cacophony drinking it in to mask his feelings of affection, of love and terror of his helplessness as he watches his brothers being pulled by deeper currents than they know. In the end, All Souls is Michael's paean to his family. It is a singular act of love written with tender care with an effort to eschew the numbing sense of emotional distance (toughness) that we develop as a response to such an environment. It is a story about life and hope and meaning and the irrepressible urge of all of us to overcome the forces of destruction and chaos. Thanks for sharing, Michael.
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Summary: Mike McDonald should be Marshall for St. Paddie's Day Parade
Review: Unlike many of the reviewers I have not had the opportunity to meet Mr. McDonald. I worked for many years in Southie. I wish I had this book available when I started working there. I wish I could count the number of times I heard that the Southie kids didn't need help or programs other than sports. They weren't from Roxbury. This book should be required reading to any Teacher, Social Worker, Community Organizer or City Hall Beaurocrat.
Rating:
Summary: A ONE OF A KIND
Review: I myself am the same age as Michael and was born and raised in Southie. This book is one of the best books I have ever read it brings both laughter and tears. I highly recommend it to everyone. It's definately a MUST READ! Michael you did such a fantastic job writing this book, I hope everything works out for you and your family. I wish you nothing but the best. I hope you write another one.
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