Awkward writing aside, a compelling story of a strong, capable woman and the history that surrounded her.
An Irish educator examines the history of Ireland through the story of her grandmother’s life.
In Thorpe’s debut, she tells the life story of her grandmother Bridget O’Rourke, a remarkable woman who successfully raised a family through tough, turbulent years in Ireland. Bridget’s story is, in a way, that of Ireland as well: She grew up listening to her parents lament the lives of loved ones lost in the Famine, then worked for a wealthy man who traveled in Ireland’s literary and political circles; shelived practically next door to Oscar Wilde’s family home, experienced poverty and the effects of the Easter Rising in Dublin, and finally saw the effects of the Home Rule movement even out in the countryside. Bridget’s own life was eventful enough without the history of Irish independence occurring alongside it. She struggled with death, poverty and much more, taking control of her life at a young age and going on to raise seven children. Thorpe’s writing makes it easy to see why she found her grandmother such an inspirational figure. With so much going on, the book can sometimes feel rushed; any stage of Bridget’s life coupled with the story of what was going on in her country could have served as a solid biography. Instead, all the personal and historical events, sometimes in a textbook-style summary, can be overwhelming at times. The book is also full of repetition and awkward, stilted transitions, with inconsistent use of quotation marks when relating something Bridget must have said directly.However, there is a lot of history and a lot of heart here, making for a readable story and a solid lesson in the history of Ireland. Thorpe compellingly incorporates history into her grandmother’s story, always making sure to bring the narrative back to Bridget’s life and personal experience. Resources can be found at the end of the book, including works cited and an appendix of famous people, places and events from Ireland’s history, which add valuable information for readers whose interests are piqued by Bridget’s tale.
Awkward writing aside, a compelling story of a strong, capable woman and the history that surrounded her.Pub Date: July 9, 2012
ISBN: 978-1477131893
Page Count: 228
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular...
A neurosurgeon with a passion for literature tragically finds his perfect subject after his diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.
Writing isn’t brain surgery, but it’s rare when someone adept at the latter is also so accomplished at the former. Searching for meaning and purpose in his life, Kalanithi pursued a doctorate in literature and had felt certain that he wouldn’t enter the field of medicine, in which his father and other members of his family excelled. “But I couldn’t let go of the question,” he writes, after realizing that his goals “didn’t quite fit in an English department.” “Where did biology, morality, literature and philosophy intersect?” So he decided to set aside his doctoral dissertation and belatedly prepare for medical school, which “would allow me a chance to find answers that are not in books, to find a different sort of sublime, to forge relationships with the suffering, and to keep following the question of what makes human life meaningful, even in the face of death and decay.” The author’s empathy undoubtedly made him an exceptional doctor, and the precision of his prose—as well as the moral purpose underscoring it—suggests that he could have written a good book on any subject he chose. Part of what makes this book so essential is the fact that it was written under a death sentence following the diagnosis that upended his life, just as he was preparing to end his residency and attract offers at the top of his profession. Kalanithi learned he might have 10 years to live or perhaps five. Should he return to neurosurgery (he could and did), or should he write (he also did)? Should he and his wife have a baby? They did, eight months before he died, which was less than two years after the original diagnosis. “The fact of death is unsettling,” he understates. “Yet there is no other way to live.”
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity.Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8129-8840-6
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
PERSPECTIVES
Well-told and admonitory.
Young-rags-to-mature-riches memoir by broker and motivational speaker Gardner.
Born and raised in the Milwaukee ghetto, the author pulled himself up from considerable disadvantage. He was fatherless, and his adored mother wasn’t always around; once, as a child, he spied her at a family funeral accompanied by a prison guard. When beautiful, evanescent Moms was there, Chris also had to deal with Freddie “I ain’t your goddamn daddy!” Triplett, one of the meanest stepfathers in recent literature. Chris did “the dozens” with the homies, boosted a bit and in the course of youthful adventure was raped. His heroes were Miles Davis, James Brown and Muhammad Ali. Meanwhile, at the behest of Moms, he developed a fondness for reading. He joined the Navy and became a medic (preparing badass Marines for proctology), and a proficient lab technician. Moving up in San Francisco, married and then divorced, he sold medical supplies. He was recruited as a trainee at Dean Witter just around the time he became a homeless single father. All his belongings in a shopping cart, Gardner sometimes slept with his young son at the office (apparently undiscovered by the night cleaning crew). The two also frequently bedded down in a public restroom. After Gardner’s talents were finally appreciated by the firm of Bear Stearns, his American Dream became real. He got the cool duds, hot car and fine ladies so coveted from afar back in the day. He even had a meeting with Nelson Mandela. Through it all, he remained a prideful parent. His own no-daddy blues are gone now.
Well-told and admonitory.Pub Date: June 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-074486-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
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