Scan barcode
lindsayaunderwood's review against another edition
4.0
I started reading this book assuming it would be the story of an unwed Irish mother, Philomena Lee, trying to reconnect with her son, Anthony, who was adopted out of a convent by an American family against Philomena's will. I guess that is overarching plot, but the book mostly gives a detailed account of Anthony's life once he gets to the US. Luckily, I found Anthony's story just as interesting.
Anthony is renamed Michael Hess and spends his life, as a gay man, advancing to the top of the Republic National Committee during the terms of Reagan and Bush Sr. As can be expected, he faces a lot of personal turmoil throughout this time.
In reading about the accuracy of the book after I finished it, it looks like the main plot points are all true. I would note some of the people who knew Michael stated most of the conversations reflected in the book were not true, but I think that is just a function of making some assumptions and fillers about what happened to characters between major plot points.
Overall, I loved this story and learned a lot. I found particularly interesting that some of the same issues discussed during that time in the 80s (AIDS crisis, concerns over gay men donating blood, and Reverend Falwell's insane ramblings about gay people trying to kill people, etc.) reflected a lot of the SAME conversations were having in 2016, which is upsetting. As you can see, I'm fairly passionate about some of these issues and recommend this book for a interesting education on how some of these issues developed (and were ignored) in the 80s.
Anthony is renamed Michael Hess and spends his life, as a gay man, advancing to the top of the Republic National Committee during the terms of Reagan and Bush Sr. As can be expected, he faces a lot of personal turmoil throughout this time.
In reading about the accuracy of the book after I finished it, it looks like the main plot points are all true. I would note some of the people who knew Michael stated most of the conversations reflected in the book were not true, but I think that is just a function of making some assumptions and fillers about what happened to characters between major plot points.
Overall, I loved this story and learned a lot. I found particularly interesting that some of the same issues discussed during that time in the 80s (AIDS crisis, concerns over gay men donating blood, and Reverend Falwell's insane ramblings about gay people trying to kill people, etc.) reflected a lot of the SAME conversations were having in 2016, which is upsetting. As you can see, I'm fairly passionate about some of these issues and recommend this book for a interesting education on how some of these issues developed (and were ignored) in the 80s.
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
This works better, I think, as a companion piece to the film of the same name than in isolation. I saw the Judi Dench film first, cried almost all the way through, and delayed reading this for fear of the same. Especially as I listened to an audio version and didn't want to risk a car accident!
But this is almost entirely a new story from that of Dench's Irish mother wrenched from her small child in 1950s Catholic Ireland. A true story, devastatingly so, Philomena had a baby out of wedlock, gave birth in a nuns' mother and baby home, and after three years, was forced to give her baby up for adoption. Here the film and book diverge - the film focusing on Philomena's lifelong quest to find out where baby Anthony was taken and what became of him; the book is almost entirely Anthony's story, his life in America.
As soon as I realised I would be learning the flip side of the story, I relaxed, knowing I wouldn't be weeping my way (as a fellow mother) through the heartache of fifty years separation. Anthony (renamed Michael)'s story is a rather amazing one, his career path both unusual and a part of history. His sexuality plays a huge role in the story, and significantly shows us a focus for a lot of 1980s (and beyond) history of both gay rights and the AIDS epidemic and society's opinions on it. At one point I cursed a particular president out loud whilst listening to this when out jogging, so angry was I at policy decisions made, and actions (not) taken in the history of AIDS treatment.
I learnt quite a lot from this.
I'll still admit to crying several times while listening. Michael's scant memories and feelings of longing for his birth mother and his lifelong yearning to find her are very well documented by Sixsmith, whose journalistic efforts to bring mother and son together take a back seat here to Michael's own quest. Sixsmith narrates this as more of a story than an obviously true account, allowing you to get caught up in the life of the Irish boy trying to fit in.
I was emotionally a bit of a wreck at the end of it, even knowing from the film the eventual direction of the tale. But I really am glad I read this AND saw the film - two stories that tell the whole narrative of two lives lived apart, with regret and longing a theme on both sides that really moved me.
The scandalous policies of 1950s Ireland I found it hard to believe, and certainly to justify. Just appalling, so many lives torn apart. The author does a good job in filling in details with names and dates, to give a full picture of just how these overseas adoptions took place.
One to read with the film on standby, they do work well together. And do have tissues handy.
But this is almost entirely a new story from that of Dench's Irish mother wrenched from her small child in 1950s Catholic Ireland. A true story, devastatingly so, Philomena had a baby out of wedlock, gave birth in a nuns' mother and baby home, and after three years, was forced to give her baby up for adoption. Here the film and book diverge - the film focusing on Philomena's lifelong quest to find out where baby Anthony was taken and what became of him; the book is almost entirely Anthony's story, his life in America.
As soon as I realised I would be learning the flip side of the story, I relaxed, knowing I wouldn't be weeping my way (as a fellow mother) through the heartache of fifty years separation. Anthony (renamed Michael)'s story is a rather amazing one, his career path both unusual and a part of history. His sexuality plays a huge role in the story, and significantly shows us a focus for a lot of 1980s (and beyond) history of both gay rights and the AIDS epidemic and society's opinions on it. At one point I cursed a particular president out loud whilst listening to this when out jogging, so angry was I at policy decisions made, and actions (not) taken in the history of AIDS treatment.
I learnt quite a lot from this.
I'll still admit to crying several times while listening. Michael's scant memories and feelings of longing for his birth mother and his lifelong yearning to find her are very well documented by Sixsmith, whose journalistic efforts to bring mother and son together take a back seat here to Michael's own quest. Sixsmith narrates this as more of a story than an obviously true account, allowing you to get caught up in the life of the Irish boy trying to fit in.
I was emotionally a bit of a wreck at the end of it, even knowing from the film the eventual direction of the tale. But I really am glad I read this AND saw the film - two stories that tell the whole narrative of two lives lived apart, with regret and longing a theme on both sides that really moved me.
The scandalous policies of 1950s Ireland I found it hard to believe, and certainly to justify. Just appalling, so many lives torn apart. The author does a good job in filling in details with names and dates, to give a full picture of just how these overseas adoptions took place.
One to read with the film on standby, they do work well together. And do have tissues handy.
b0hemian_graham's review against another edition
3.0
3.25/5, and a rare case where I enjoyed the film adaptation more. I enjoyed the interplay between Coogan and Dench, whereas the book focused more on the son.
maddness22's review against another edition
Got really slow and boring after they switched focus to the son. I wish it followed the mom more
regrin9's review against another edition
3.0
I felt that a good 100 pages could have been cut out of the middle, it tended to go on and on about the same thing at a different time, so I found it repetitive and annoying as a result.
alappin's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book but I agree with other reviews that the title is very misleading. I kept waiting for the book to talk about Philomena but the book was 90% about her son, Michael Hess. I kept thinking that Philomena's story would come but as I approached the end I realized I wasn't going to get much. However, I really liked the story about Michael Hess. It was very interesting to read about how he came to terms with his sexuality and how he tried to reconcile it with his involvement with the Republican party. I felt like I learned a lot about adoption in Ireland and what it feels like to not know your birth parents. I am curious to see the movie now and if they choose to incorporate more of Philomena's story. I am still curious what she was up to all the years before she met with the journalist to find Michael. I don't see why Philomena's story was not included since she was still living at the time of its writing.
cindyjac's review against another edition
2.0
Why is the title Philomena? Stuck with this because of the popular movie; waited to see the connection to Philomena and it was limited. I should have just read the ending first and saved a lot of time. It makes me wonder what else was made up in this story. I didn't see the movie and won't for sure now.
esshgee's review against another edition
4.0
Such a heart-wrenching story. As with the movie, the book provoked many emotions, but mostly outrage at how poorly people treat each other when placed in a position of power
in_and_out_of_the_stash's review against another edition
3.0
Read this because I saw the movie first. This book is about the life of the son whereas the movie was a fictional account of the mother's search.