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218 reviews for:
Philomena (Movie Tie-In): A Mother, Her Son, and a Fifty-Year Search
Martin Sixsmith
3.49 AVERAGE
218 reviews for:
Philomena (Movie Tie-In): A Mother, Her Son, and a Fifty-Year Search
Martin Sixsmith
3.49 AVERAGE
For starters, the title of this book is horrendously misleading - we only hear of Philomena's story for about 5% of the book.
For seconds, this book is horrendous.
Essentially, the narrative of this novel deals with huge events, movements and personal experiences in the most blasé and redundant a manner that I'm not sure how it even got published. This demeans and caricatures the hardships and battles that Mike Hess clearly faced in his life. To mention but a few; Mike's confusion over and acceptance of his sexuality in the face of his religion, his continued pain over the fact of his adoption, his political career, the AIDS epidemic, the active role of the Catholic Church and Irish government in the baby trade, and the emotional (and otherwise) abuse which originally parted him from his birth mother - these are all depicted with the same flippancy and detachment as to ensure that rather than being the moving account of a life exceptionally and unfairly rich in hardships, this book serves only to record the things which could have been written of properly in a better biographer's hands.
My main problem is that all these areas of the book, all of which should have been powerful in their own right, are ignored in this manner in favour of a ridiculous and pathetic focus on sexual experiences. Yes, Mike Hess was gay, but this book's author seems to go to great lengths to prove this with (surely partially if not wholly invented) reminders of his sexual encounters which are completely unnecessary to the narrative, demean the fact of his long and meaningful relationship, attempt to reduce sexuality to the actual act of sex, and make me question whether the author, in fact, had a problem with his subject's homosexuality.
Mike Hess clearly led an extraordinary life, filled with hardships and joys not least of which was his continued thwarted search for his birth mother. Philomena herself also clearly led a life which attests to great change and hardship throughout which her love for her lost son remained fierce. Their biography is one which I would love to read, but this book is, quite clearly, nothing short of fiction based on the briefest of familiarity with the main points of a man's life. Not only does this novel offer a shameful excuse for a biographical account, it is frequently historically questionable and is terribly written throughout.
For seconds, this book is horrendous.
Essentially, the narrative of this novel deals with huge events, movements and personal experiences in the most blasé and redundant a manner that I'm not sure how it even got published. This demeans and caricatures the hardships and battles that Mike Hess clearly faced in his life. To mention but a few; Mike's confusion over and acceptance of his sexuality in the face of his religion, his continued pain over the fact of his adoption, his political career, the AIDS epidemic, the active role of the Catholic Church and Irish government in the baby trade, and the emotional (and otherwise) abuse which originally parted him from his birth mother - these are all depicted with the same flippancy and detachment as to ensure that rather than being the moving account of a life exceptionally and unfairly rich in hardships, this book serves only to record the things which could have been written of properly in a better biographer's hands.
My main problem is that all these areas of the book, all of which should have been powerful in their own right, are ignored in this manner in favour of a ridiculous and pathetic focus on sexual experiences. Yes, Mike Hess was gay, but this book's author seems to go to great lengths to prove this with (surely partially if not wholly invented) reminders of his sexual encounters which are completely unnecessary to the narrative, demean the fact of his long and meaningful relationship, attempt to reduce sexuality to the actual act of sex, and make me question whether the author, in fact, had a problem with his subject's homosexuality.
Mike Hess clearly led an extraordinary life, filled with hardships and joys not least of which was his continued thwarted search for his birth mother. Philomena herself also clearly led a life which attests to great change and hardship throughout which her love for her lost son remained fierce. Their biography is one which I would love to read, but this book is, quite clearly, nothing short of fiction based on the briefest of familiarity with the main points of a man's life. Not only does this novel offer a shameful excuse for a biographical account, it is frequently historically questionable and is terribly written throughout.
This book was recommended to me by an associate in the Juvenile Court system. I had seen the movie, so I wouldn't have thought to read it otherwise. I am so glad I did. While the movie is told mostly from the perspective of Philomena, the birth mother, the book is told from the perspective of Anthony, the adopted son.
If you read it (and you should), prepare yourself to be sad and enraged in a continuous cycle until the last page, which you will get to quickly, because putting the book down is the hardest part. Sixsmith keeps the story moving along at a perfect pace. I'm left wanting to hug each family member for different reasons, and feeling an even stronger dedication to protecting the welfare of children.
If you read it (and you should), prepare yourself to be sad and enraged in a continuous cycle until the last page, which you will get to quickly, because putting the book down is the hardest part. Sixsmith keeps the story moving along at a perfect pace. I'm left wanting to hug each family member for different reasons, and feeling an even stronger dedication to protecting the welfare of children.
I had expected this book to be written from the mother's perspective. Instead what I read was a biography of her son, focusing primarily on his political career.
While I'm sure it's interesting, it's not what I was expecting to read.
As a Canadian, nothing is more boring (to me) than the American political
system. The only part of this that was interesting was the Republicans
role in supressing information about HIV/AIDS and that could be a book
in itself.
While I'm sure it's interesting, it's not what I was expecting to read.
As a Canadian, nothing is more boring (to me) than the American political
system. The only part of this that was interesting was the Republicans
role in supressing information about HIV/AIDS and that could be a book
in itself.
This book was not what I was expected. I had some trouble maintaining interest during the heavy RNC/political conversation, but it was overall a good book. The title is very misleading however as the story is not really about a search for a son. The stories main focus is the life of the child.
I feel cheated.
I picked up this book having read the original Sixsmith articles and expected a detailed account of the life and times of Philomena Lee.
Instead, I get a biography of Michael Hess, whose life was mildly interesting but not what I was looking for. If you have a particular interest in US politics circa 1980 or the AIDS epidemic, this is the book for you. If not, I wouldn't bother.
This was definitely Hess: A Biography, not Philomena.
Oh, and I never was to read the word 'gerrymandering' again.
I picked up this book having read the original Sixsmith articles and expected a detailed account of the life and times of Philomena Lee.
Instead, I get a biography of Michael Hess, whose life was mildly interesting but not what I was looking for. If you have a particular interest in US politics circa 1980 or the AIDS epidemic, this is the book for you. If not, I wouldn't bother.
This was definitely Hess: A Biography, not Philomena.
Oh, and I never was to read the word 'gerrymandering' again.
Read this for book club. Sure did paint an ugly picture of the Catholic Church and the nuns. I wouldn't recommend it.
Personally I am a fan of 'non-fiction' written in a narrative style but clearly the conversations in this book are imagined and so must be taken with a bucket of salt. I thought that the focus on Michaels sex life was a little salicious.
It seems to me that the Author took a lot of liberties with the truth. He appeared to have created whole conversations between characters. This fictionalized account allowed him to insert his views and opinions throughout. Also, not sure why he choose to focus more on Michael( Anthony) than Philomena, who he had a source. ( apparently the movie - which I haven't seen yet- focuses more on her) Also, think the story was more conducive to a magazine article than a whole book.
The first thing I would say about this book is that the title is incredibly misleading. Philomena features in very little of the book and it certainly isn’t her story. The book is in the main the story of her son Michael’s life. It is the tale of how the Catholic church in Ireland shockingly sold him (and many thousands of others) to American parents and pretty much to the highest bidder. Michael always wanted to find his birth mother (and vice versa) and never felt like he quite fit in anywhere. He was a very intelligent man and worked for the Republican party, which as a gay man was difficult due to their draconian policies on homosexuality. I found it both interesting and shocking to learn how the Republicans sat back and watched the spread of aids ravage the gay community and the wider community, too afraid of offending the so called “moral majority”. Thousands lost their lives due to this. Interestingly enough despite their hateful policies it would seem that the Republican party was full of closeted gay men! At times I found the focus on politics and gerrymandering slightly dull but I guess this was necessary to understand the importance of the role Michael played. However , on the whole I enjoyed this book about his life and it once again opened my eyes to the damage caused by the catholic churches policies on forced adoption and the effects it had on all parties involved . I would recommend.
I came in expecting the film and instead was treated with a deep character study of Michael Hess, or Anthony Lee, whose life and pain just broke my heart.
This is an incredibly emotional read and I don’t know why I picked it up today - but the utter injustice of it all kept me reading and I am still furious and crying over what was done to these children and these women. Every time you think it’s possible to gain some perspective or distance, you are reminded this is a true story and so many people suffered as Philomena and Mary and Michael have.
An incredibly important and informative read - if you’ve seen the movie, read the book. If you haven’t seen the movie, read the book and watch the film. You owe it to yourself to gain knowledge of the world around you so that we might all approach each other with less judgment and more kindness.
This is an incredibly emotional read and I don’t know why I picked it up today - but the utter injustice of it all kept me reading and I am still furious and crying over what was done to these children and these women. Every time you think it’s possible to gain some perspective or distance, you are reminded this is a true story and so many people suffered as Philomena and Mary and Michael have.
An incredibly important and informative read - if you’ve seen the movie, read the book. If you haven’t seen the movie, read the book and watch the film. You owe it to yourself to gain knowledge of the world around you so that we might all approach each other with less judgment and more kindness.