Rating: 
Summary: A Epic Tale Like Gone with the Wind for our Generation
Review: A fascinating story of family, catholicism, and politics staged in the 60's 70's and 80's. Well worthwhile. My only criticism is I would have liked to know more about the characters. I was actually sorry to have the book end. Highly reccomened
Rating: 
Summary: Kudos
Review: A great book, and just like many reviewers have said I didn't want the book to end. I am someone who grew up in Revere and spent time in Charlestown, and the detail to the details of the city of Boston are impeccable.
Rating:
Summary: Kudos
Review: A great book, and just like many reviewers have said I didn't want the book to end. I am someone who grew up in Revere and spent time in Charlestown, and the detail to the details of the city of Boston are impeccable.
Rating:
Summary: Vital for anyone interested in Boston's Tribal divisions
Review: After reading Carroll's American Requiem, I was eager to read this novel. The story revolves around the ethnic divisions in Boston and the experience of Irish Americans in particular in the Kennedy era. Carroll's characters are not as predictable as some, although their experience is representative. The dynamic between the two main characters is interesting, and the textual flow keeps you thinking. I recommend this novel to anyone who is of Boston Irish heritage, or finds the ward politics of that time period enthralling!
Rating:
Summary: Best read in years
Review: I was given this book by a friend and put off reading it -- thought it would be just an okay book. I have been disappointed since I finished it! It is one of those books that you just never want to end. Carroll's writing is wonderful and leaves you hungry for more. It's a must read for everyone but especially those from the Boston area. Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely worthwhile
Review: James Carroll is such a thoughtful writer that I wish I could give this book a higher rating, but it lacks punch when it comes to the criminal underworld aspect of the story. Carroll certainly knows Boston, especially Boston politics, and he knows the workings of the Cathlolic church inside out, and he captures the relationship between the Doyle brothers in a way that will be recognizable to any Irish American. But the criminal stuff is garden-variety crime fiction, written from a great distance. A pity. This is a good book that could have been a great one with a little more grit.
Rating:
Summary: Superbly Crafted
Review: James Carroll's The City Below recounts the saga of the Doyle brothers in four giant steps--1960, 1968, 1975 and 1984. Set mainly in Boston and centered on the working-class Irish of Charlestown, Carroll takes Terry and Nick Doyle along sharply disparate paths from late adolescence, staring at the cracks in the ceiling of the bedroom they share above the family flower shop, to an affluent middle age--Terry in commercial real estate and Nick in organized crime. Slated for the priesthood, Terry is afflicted by what his friend, Bright McKay, describes as having a need to see himself as a sinner and life's good things as temptations; Terry is a straight arrow, an idealist doomed to disappointment, a trusting friend destined for betrayal, even by those within the Church. Fastening his star to the Kennedy family, Terry rises in the world of politics, ultimately veering in commercial real estate development, envisioning the rehabilitation of Boston's old ethnic quarters. Nick is as crooked as they come, his style distinguished by a subtlety that would delight Machiavelli. Inheriting the family flower business, Nick sees beyond its commercial expansion to organizing a protection racket for the Flower Exchange. Powerless to compete head-to-head with the Italian Mafia, he crafts a subservient alliance with them, continuously plotting to expel them from Irish turf. Although Terry perseveres in loving his brother, Nick is as disloyal as he is devious, using Terry at any opportunity to advance his own interests. Like two speeding comets, the enmities of their relationship ultimately collide in a deeply personal way. This is not a story of Boston, in spite of the fond (or not so fond) memories it may evoke in Townies; it isn't a story of the Catholic faith or the Irish Catholic culture; it isn't a story of politics peculiar to Boston. While these elements enrich the tapestry of the tale, the story clearly transcends these parochial concerns to reveal a growing mastery of the storytelling art that Carroll realizes in his most recent novel, Secret Father.
Rating:
Summary: Superbly Crafted
Review: James Carroll's The City Below recounts the saga of the Doyle brothers in four giant steps--1960, 1968, 1975 and 1984. Set mainly in Boston and centered on the working-class Irish of Charlestown, Carroll takes Terry and Nick Doyle along sharply disparate paths from late adolescence, staring at the cracks in the ceiling of the bedroom they share above the family flower shop, to an affluent middle age--Terry in commercial real estate and Nick in organized crime. Slated for the priesthood, Terry is afflicted by what his friend, Bright McKay, describes as having a need to see himself as a sinner and life's good things as temptations; Terry is a straight arrow, an idealist doomed to disappointment, a trusting friend destined for betrayal, even by those within the Church. Fastening his star to the Kennedy family, Terry rises in the world of politics, ultimately veering in commercial real estate development, envisioning the rehabilitation of Boston's old ethnic quarters. Nick is as crooked as they come, his style distinguished by a subtlety that would delight Machiavelli. Inheriting the family flower business, Nick sees beyond its commercial expansion to organizing a protection racket for the Flower Exchange. Powerless to compete head-to-head with the Italian Mafia, he crafts a subservient alliance with them, continuously plotting to expel them from Irish turf. Although Terry perseveres in loving his brother, Nick is as disloyal as he is devious, using Terry at any opportunity to advance his own interests. Like two speeding comets, the enmities of their relationship ultimately collide in a deeply personal way. This is not a story of Boston, in spite of the fond (or not so fond) memories it may evoke in Townies; it isn't a story of the Catholic faith or the Irish Catholic culture; it isn't a story of politics peculiar to Boston. While these elements enrich the tapestry of the tale, the story clearly transcends these parochial concerns to reveal a growing mastery of the storytelling art that Carroll realizes in his most recent novel, Secret Father.
Rating:
Summary: A Epic Tale Like Gone with the Wind for our Generation
Review: Living in Massachusetts and working in Boston, this book had obvious appeal to me. I think the author takes the reader's knowledge of Boston to be that of a resident, so I think one would like this novel less if one did not know Boston. Another problem is related to the editing of the book. It seems as though the editor may have cut this book down too much. As a result, some characters are not well developed and the story seems to jump ahead too quickly. That said, this book is a real page turner. It combines history and fiction so well, you could easily imagine that the main characters (Nick and Terry Doyle) were indeed real. Furthermore, it contrasts the paths of these two brothers, and in a roundabout manner questions the morality of choices made by both. I would especially recommend this book to anyone that is familiar with Boston or its recent history.
Rating:
Summary: The City Below - Morality Play in Irish Boston
Review: Living in Massachusetts and working in Boston, this book had obvious appeal to me. I think the author takes the reader's knowledge of Boston to be that of a resident, so I think one would like this novel less if one did not know Boston. Another problem is related to the editing of the book. It seems as though the editor may have cut this book down too much. As a result, some characters are not well developed and the story seems to jump ahead too quickly. That said, this book is a real page turner. It combines history and fiction so well, you could easily imagine that the main characters (Nick and Terry Doyle) were indeed real. Furthermore, it contrasts the paths of these two brothers, and in a roundabout manner questions the morality of choices made by both. I would especially recommend this book to anyone that is familiar with Boston or its recent history.
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