An engrossing tale that serves as a poignant reminder of the lives lost on 9/11.
A novel focuses on 9/11 and a group of fictional firefighters.
Through Napolitano’s characters, readers learn about the New York City Fire Department and the many individuals it takes to create a functioning firefighting team. The audience gets a glimpse into the characters’ lives; why they chose to be firefighters; and their family dynamics and interpersonal relationships as well as the trust-building that occurs among the warriors on duty. In short, readers are reminded of the firefighters’ humanity and the loss that their friends and families experienced when they entered the World Trade Center on 9/11. By sprinkling intriguing details about the firefighters throughout the moving novel (Patrick Boyle’s romance with Lauren Moore; Phil Coletti and his dad’s relationship), the author paints a vivid picture of the bravery and sacrifice displayed by the FDNY. Napolitano was a volunteer member of the fire department on 9/11. He deftly captures the feelings of panic and fear as well as the firefighters’ acceptance of their fate and unwillingness to stop helping civilians in the face of danger. In a particularly powerful moment, the author includes the prayer of general absolution that a priest intones aloud as the firefighters are gearing up to head to the twin towers. Although it seems like a minor detail in the grand scheme of tragic events, the episode evokes a deep sadness because readers will imagine that the firefighters know the immense perils that lie ahead. Napolitano does a good job of setting the stage for readers who are not privy to firefighter slang and culture by including a glossary and a character map depicting the levels of command and organizational structure. In addition, he skillfully portrays the range of personalities that exist in a station. For example, the members of 14 Truck include Harry Sturgis (the rookie), Jim “Wart” Mangold (the veteran worrywart), and Bryan O’Rorke (the experienced firefighter who consistently displays courage).
An engrossing tale that serves as a poignant reminder of the lives lost on 9/11.Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73752-010-8
Page Count: 434
Publisher: Toren James Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A moving, hilarious reminder that parenthood, just like life, means constant change.
During an annual beach vacation, a mother confronts her past and learns to move forward.
Her family’s annual trip to Cape Cod is always the highlight of Rocky’s year—even more so now that her children are grown and she cherishes what little time she gets with them. Rocky is deep in the throes of menopause, picking fights with her loving husband and occasionally throwing off her clothes during a hot flash, much to the chagrin of her family. She’s also dealing with her parents, who are crammed into the same small summer house (with one toilet that only occasionally spews sewage everywhere) and who are aging at an alarmingly rapid rate. Rocky’s life is full of change, from her body to her identity—she frequently flashes back to the vacations of years past, when her children were tiny. Although she’s grateful for the family she has, she mourns what she’s lost. Newman (author of the equally wonderful We All Want Impossible Things, 2022) imbues Rocky’s internal struggles with importance and gravity, all while showcasing her very funny observations about life and parenting. She examines motherhood with a raw honesty that few others manage—she remembers the hard parts, the depths of despair, panic, and anxiety that can happen with young children, and she also recounts the joy in a way that never feels saccharine. She has a gift for exploring the real, messy contradictions in human emotions. As Rocky puts it, “This may be the only reason we were put on this earth. To say to each other, I know how you feel.”
A moving, hilarious reminder that parenthood, just like life, means constant change.Pub Date: June 18, 2024
ISBN: 9780063345164
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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A stunning feat of storytelling and moral clarity.
An Irishman uncovers abuse at a Magdalen laundry in this compact and gripping novel.
As Christmas approaches in the winter of 1985, Bill Furlong finds himself increasingly troubled by a sense of dissatisfaction. A coal and timber merchant living in New Ross, Ireland, he should be happy with his life: He is happily married and the father of five bright daughters, and he runs a successful business. But the scars of his childhood linger: His mother gave birth to him while still a teenager, and he never knew his father. Now, as he approaches middle age, Furlong wonders, “What was it all for?…Might things never change or develop into something else, or new?” But a series of troubling encounters at the local convent, which also functions as a “training school for girls” and laundry business, disrupts Furlong’s sedate life. Readers familiar with the history of Ireland’s Magdalen laundries, institutions in which women were incarcerated and often died, will immediately recognize the circumstances of the desperate women trapped in New Ross’ convent, but Furlong does not immediately understand what he has witnessed. Keegan, a prizewinning Irish short story writer, says a great deal in very few words to extraordinary effect in this short novel. Despite the brevity of the text, Furlong’s emotional state is fully rendered and deeply affecting. Keegan also carefully crafts a web of complicity around the convent’s activities that is believably mundane and all the more chilling for it. The Magdalen laundries, this novel implicitly argues, survived not only due to the cruelty of the people who ran them, but also because of the fear and selfishness of those who were willing to look aside because complicity was easier than resistance.
A stunning feat of storytelling and moral clarity.Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8021-5874-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grove
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
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