Empire Rising: A Novel - Hardcover

Kelly, Thomas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374147817 ISBN 13: 9780374147815

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005

Synopsis

A Novel of High-Stakes Romance and Betrayal, Set During the Race to Finish the World's Tallest Building

In Empire Rising, his extraordinary third book, Thomas Kelly tells a story of love and work, of intrigue and jealousy, with the narrative verve that led the Village Voice's reviewer to dub him "Dostoevsky with a hard hat and lead pipe."
As the novel opens, it is 1930-the Depression-and ground has just been broken for the Empire State Building. One of the thousands of men erecting the building high above the city is Michael Briody, an Irish immigrant torn between his desire to make a new life in America and his pledge to gather money and arms for the Irish republican cause. When he meets Grace Masterson, an alluring artist who is depicting the great skyscraper's ascent from her houseboat on the East River, Briody's life turns exhilarating-and dangerous, for Grace is also a paramour of Johnny Farrell, Mayor Jimmy Walker's liaison with Tammany Hall and the underworld.
Their heartbreaking love story-which takes place both in the immigrant neighborhoods of the Bronx and amid the swanky nightlife of the '21' Club--is also a chronicle of the city's rough passage from a working-class enclave to a world-class metropolis, and a vivid reimagining of the conflict that pitted the Tammany Hall political machine and its popular mayor against the boundlessly ambitious Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Colin Harrison, in The New York Times Book Review, called Kelly's The Rackets "A well-paced, violent thriller, [and] an elegy for the city's old Irish working class." In Empire Rising, Kelly takes his work to a new level: telling of the story of the people who built the "eighth wonder of the world," he makes old New York the setting for a rich and unforgettable story.

About this title

About the Author

Thomas Kelly's first novel, Payback, is in development as a feature film; his second, The Rackets (FSG, 2001), is being adapted for a forthcoming ABC series produced by Sydney Pollack. Kelly splits his time between Manhattan and Ireland.

From AudioFile

EMPIRE RISING is a historical novel that, like the construction of the Empire State Building on which it centers, grows on the listener. The story begins slowly as the extensive cast of characters, ranging from Tammany Hall politicos to the gruffest iron workers, is introduced. The book then evolves into both a love story and an intricately drawn political novel. Michael Deehy is an excellent choice as narrator. Deehy's soft Irish accent works well with the cast of predominantly Irish characters, particularly immigrant Michael Briody, the protagonist. Deehy fully demonstrates his versatility by giving each of the other characters a unique and convincing voice. While EMPIRE RISING is a bit long, it's a journey worth completing. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0374147817
• ISBN 13: 9780374147815
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400