All Souls - Hardcover
MacDonald grew up in the Irish enclave of South Boston and faced a harsh life in the projects replete with roaches, rats, drugs and violence. "An incendiary, moving book that startles on nearly every page." - KIRKUS "The book leavens tragedy with dashes of humor but preserves the heartbreaking details." - NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW Anti-violence activist Michael MacDonald grew up within the insular working-class Irish community in "the best place in the world" - the Old Colony projects of South Boston, where he lost four out of eight siblings to violence in the 1970s. He here traces his family history, and relates secret tales of class strife, bigotry, corruption, and vanished lives to recreate a harsh arena of a 1970s ghetto and urban poverty. His single Ma felt blessed when a local politician secured her entrance to the majority-Irish Old Colony project. Once there, the MacDonalds had to prove their mettle against delinquents with shotguns, thus acquiring the patina of craziness necessary for survival.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Inside Flap:
Michael Patrick MacDonald grew up in "the best place in the world"--the Old Colony projects of South Boston--where 85% of the residents collect welfare in an area with the highest concentration of impoverished whites in the U.S. In All Souls, MacDonald takes us deep into the secret heart of Southie. With radiant insight, he opens up a contradictory world, where residents are besieged by gangs and crime but refuse to admit any problems, remaining fiercely loyal to their community. MacDonald also introduces us to the unforgettable people who inhabit this proud neighborhood. We meet his mother, Ma MacDonald, an accordion-playing, spiked-heel-wearing, indomitable mother to all; Whitey Bulger, the lord of Southie, gangster and father figure, protector and punisher; and Michael's beloved siblings, nearly half of whom were lost forever to drugs, murder, or suicide. By turns explosive and touching, All Souls ultimately shares a powerful message of hope, renewal, and redemption.
From the Back Cover:
"If you were charmed by Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes . . . try All Souls, Michael Patrick MacDonald's guileless and powerful memoir."
--Time
"ALL SOULS IS THE WRITTEN EQUIVALENT OF AN IRISH WAKE, WHERE REVELERS DANCE AND SING THE DEAD PERSON'S PRAISES. In that same style, the book leavens tragedy with dashes of humor but preserves the heartbreaking details."
--The New York Times Book Review
"SEARING POWER . . . [MACDONALD'S] SWIFT, CONVERSATIONAL STYLE SWEEPS YOU INTO HIS ANGER AND SORROW."
--USA Today
"A DEEPLY AMERICAN STORY . . . BUT WHAT IT SHARES WITH ANGELA'S ASHES IS A SENSE OF INSPIRATION. From terrible times came two good men, both gifted in storytelling."
--Chicago Sun-Times
--Time
"ALL SOULS IS THE WRITTEN EQUIVALENT OF AN IRISH WAKE, WHERE REVELERS DANCE AND SING THE DEAD PERSON'S PRAISES. In that same style, the book leavens tragedy with dashes of humor but preserves the heartbreaking details."
--The New York Times Book Review
"SEARING POWER . . . [MACDONALD'S] SWIFT, CONVERSATIONAL STYLE SWEEPS YOU INTO HIS ANGER AND SORROW."
--USA Today
"A DEEPLY AMERICAN STORY . . . BUT WHAT IT SHARES WITH ANGELA'S ASHES IS A SENSE OF INSPIRATION. From terrible times came two good men, both gifted in storytelling."
--Chicago Sun-Times
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherIsis Large Print
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 0753196700
- ISBN 13 9780753196700
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages433
- Rating
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Seller Image
All Souls
Published by
ISIS Large Print Books
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0753196700
ISBN 13: 9780753196700
Used
Hardcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: Good. Good condition book without dust jacket. Boards are clean with little wear. Book has clean and bright contents. Sticker remnants to front endpaper. Seller Inventory # 9999-9995164523
Buy Used
US$ 6.43
Convert currency