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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
First thing first: the movie tie-in version of this book (which is the one I got) is seriously misleading in cutting the title to just 'Philomena'. I bought the book thinking it was all about Philomena's search for her son, and got a little confused when it turned out to be 90% the other way around.
That said, I found this book fascinating. As I was only vaguely familiar with the historical and political context, this was an eye-opening book for me. It's heartbreaking to read the lingering effect of the adoption system on Mike, and to think it happened to so many others is staggering. It'd be easy to condemn the church and everyone involved for that system, but I went away with the sense that the system was awful, but there were good people doing the best they could to help within it. There were points where I felt difficult to sympathize with Mike and the choices he made, but it might be due to my understanding that the author never got to actually speak to him, so a part of me wondered how accurate the descriptions of his internal struggles are.
All in all, this was an eye-opening book for me on a level and I enjoyed it despite not being much of a non-fiction reader. If I didn't have expectations about reading Philomena's story though, I might've enjoyed it more, but that's the publisher's fault.
That said, I found this book fascinating. As I was only vaguely familiar with the historical and political context, this was an eye-opening book for me. It's heartbreaking to read the lingering effect of the adoption system on Mike, and to think it happened to so many others is staggering. It'd be easy to condemn the church and everyone involved for that system, but I went away with the sense that the system was awful, but there were good people doing the best they could to help within it. There were points where I felt difficult to sympathize with Mike and the choices he made, but it might be due to my understanding that the author never got to actually speak to him, so a part of me wondered how accurate the descriptions of his internal struggles are.
All in all, this was an eye-opening book for me on a level and I enjoyed it despite not being much of a non-fiction reader. If I didn't have expectations about reading Philomena's story though, I might've enjoyed it more, but that's the publisher's fault.
This was heartbreaking in so many ways. Both Philomena and her son were searching for each other like forever..especially on the end part of this book. It was just sad that Philomena and her son didn't get to meet..ever. There was some parts of this book that I think I didn't connect. And I just wanted to skip it.But still, this was a good book.
So different parts of this get different star ratings from me:
4 stars for the heart breaking story of what Philomena went through (although I knew most of it from the movie).
3.5 for the stuff about Michael Hess's work life and the role he played in the redistricting etc. legal efforts that were partially responsible for the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress. Most folks would probably be bored by this stuff though. I'm a political geek.
Unfortunately I was about 25% through the book when I read Susan Kavanagh's review discussing how large sections of the book were inaccurate. That leads to a 1 star rating for those parts of the book. It all averages out about 2 stars. I also was disappointed to not learn anything else about Philomena. In particular it would have been nice to learn about her relationship with her 2 husbands and the children she had after Anthony/Michael.
4 stars for the heart breaking story of what Philomena went through (although I knew most of it from the movie).
3.5 for the stuff about Michael Hess's work life and the role he played in the redistricting etc. legal efforts that were partially responsible for the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress. Most folks would probably be bored by this stuff though. I'm a political geek.
Unfortunately I was about 25% through the book when I read Susan Kavanagh's review discussing how large sections of the book were inaccurate. That leads to a 1 star rating for those parts of the book. It all averages out about 2 stars. I also was disappointed to not learn anything else about Philomena. In particular it would have been nice to learn about her relationship with her 2 husbands and the children she had after Anthony/Michael.
Good writing, but I wish there had been more of Philomena's story interspersed with Michael's. Heartbreaking at the end, of course, and definitely makes you glad for some reforms in the Catholic Church. I'm interested to watch the movie and see how they do it, so it's billed so much as about Philomena, when really the story is very much about Michael.
Hard book to read--so sad. Gave it a 2 because it's published as NF but the author never really discusses his methodology for expressing the protagonist's most inner thoughts, since he never met him or communicated with him. Additionally, one of his sources excoriates Sixsmith on goodreads. I'm glad I read it, because people should know how the Irish government and Catholic Church dealt with babies in their care.
This is the story of Philomena Lee, who had a baby outside of marriage in Ireland and was sent to a convent to deliver him. She was forced to sign a document relinquishing him for adoption and when he was three, he was adopted by an American family with another girl from the convent and given a new name and family. The book follows Michael's story as he grows up in the US and throughout his adulthood to his early death. It explores the stories of Michael and , to a lesser extent, his mother trying to find each other. It is a sad but interesting story of the reality of having a child outside marriage in Ireland and of adoptions at this time. I have since read reviews from people who knew Michael Hess and was disappointed to read that the author has made up a lot of the conversations and details about Michael's life and that the story is more fiction than fact. I would far rather have read a true account.
I saw the film before I read the book. In hindsight, this was a mistake. Doing so almost always means preferring the movie to the book. As expected, this was the case.
I believe this book is creative non-fiction in that the dialogue has to be made up based on what the author has found out and surmised about 'the lost child.' The movie, Philomena (which I highly recommend) is based on the book. The movie looks at the quest that Philomenia and a former journalist, Martin Sixsmith, go on to find her son -- a son the Irish Catholic church sold to an American couple. The son is one of thousands of children of unwed mothers the church sold.
Sixsmith worked for the BBC as a foreign correspondent. He left the BBC in 1997 to work for the government of Tony Blair. He was fired when a controversial email he wrote was leaked to the press. (The gov't had later to issue an apology and pay him compensation.) His book is a fascinating look at investigative journalism and creative writing. While the movie looks at Philomenia and Sixsmith's journey (somewhat fictionalized) to find her lost son, the book looks at the life of the lost son. Adopted and gay, he rises to a prominent position in the Republican Party when Ronald Reagan is elected president. It is also the time of the rise of religious right and of AIDS. The book becomes a fascinating historical look at the politics of the late 1970 and the 1980s. If you are at all interested in that era, and enjoy creative non-fiction, I highly recommend this book. In fact, see the move and then read the book. Neither spoils each other; they add to each other. Incredible read, and them some.
Note: The book gives you more back story -- what the Irish church was doing in the 1950s, and the politics of the situation. In short, the church was conducting a Spanish Inquisition against single mothers and their children -- selling the kids to the US and imprisoning the mothers as slaves. If you needed another reason to hate the church, read this book. .... I wonder what horrors are going on right now that will be revealed a decade or so from now? If God is as merciful to the bishops, priests and nuns as they were to the single mothers and their children, the bishops, priests and nuns are rotting in hell. Where does this divine right in people come from? And why does it way too often manifest itself so ignorantly?
Sixsmith worked for the BBC as a foreign correspondent. He left the BBC in 1997 to work for the government of Tony Blair. He was fired when a controversial email he wrote was leaked to the press. (The gov't had later to issue an apology and pay him compensation.) His book is a fascinating look at investigative journalism and creative writing. While the movie looks at Philomenia and Sixsmith's journey (somewhat fictionalized) to find her lost son, the book looks at the life of the lost son. Adopted and gay, he rises to a prominent position in the Republican Party when Ronald Reagan is elected president. It is also the time of the rise of religious right and of AIDS. The book becomes a fascinating historical look at the politics of the late 1970 and the 1980s. If you are at all interested in that era, and enjoy creative non-fiction, I highly recommend this book. In fact, see the move and then read the book. Neither spoils each other; they add to each other. Incredible read, and them some.
Note: The book gives you more back story -- what the Irish church was doing in the 1950s, and the politics of the situation. In short, the church was conducting a Spanish Inquisition against single mothers and their children -- selling the kids to the US and imprisoning the mothers as slaves. If you needed another reason to hate the church, read this book. .... I wonder what horrors are going on right now that will be revealed a decade or so from now? If God is as merciful to the bishops, priests and nuns as they were to the single mothers and their children, the bishops, priests and nuns are rotting in hell. Where does this divine right in people come from? And why does it way too often manifest itself so ignorantly?