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A review by khornstein1
All Souls: A Family Story from Southie by Michael Patrick MacDonald
5.0
This is a fantastic memoir. It's misleading to think that it's another "Angela's Ashes." In fact, I didn't read this book for many years because the two books were often cited as being similar. I found the story very different (a very different time and place and family).
I found the story fascinating especially as I for most of my adult life have been a New Yorker, and haven't found it necessary (or very interesting, honestly) to delve into my adopted city's recent history. I had some vague ideas about busing, and Southie and Whitey Bulger, but didn't know a lot about them (I already knew about John Gotti and Brooklyn!)
This book, far from being meandering is a no-holds-barred look at what it was like to grow up in Southie in the 60's and 70's. Without being heavy-handed, the book touches on race, schooling, addiction, mental illness, poverty, dysfunction, etc. while at the same time tells a compelling story about the people in MacDonald's family. This book is genuine--MacDonald talks about how his views of many things change over time--offering both his perspective as a child, and as an adult.
If you have any interest in Boston or any of the above topics: highly recommended!
I found the story fascinating especially as I for most of my adult life have been a New Yorker, and haven't found it necessary (or very interesting, honestly) to delve into my adopted city's recent history. I had some vague ideas about busing, and Southie and Whitey Bulger, but didn't know a lot about them (I already knew about John Gotti and Brooklyn!)
This book, far from being meandering is a no-holds-barred look at what it was like to grow up in Southie in the 60's and 70's. Without being heavy-handed, the book touches on race, schooling, addiction, mental illness, poverty, dysfunction, etc. while at the same time tells a compelling story about the people in MacDonald's family. This book is genuine--MacDonald talks about how his views of many things change over time--offering both his perspective as a child, and as an adult.
If you have any interest in Boston or any of the above topics: highly recommended!