Picador Modern Classics: Charming Billy : A Novel (Paperback)

from

There is a quiet sturdiness to this book as embodied by the characters of Maeve and Dennis, but aside from that I can't think of much to say about it. I didn't love it; however, I liked it well enough. At least it wasn't maudlin or bitter. Interesting ordinary people.

from TheAmpersand

A slow, sad book that describes the way that a sudden romantic disappointment changes the life of a likeable Irish-American drinker. McDermott's skilled at conveying the essence of character: after finishing "Charming Billy," I felt like I knew him, along with many of his friends, relatives and a...

from RebaRelishesReading

This is a charming tale of an Irish American family and of Billy, a charming, much-loved alcoholic. We begin at Billy's funeral and start to learn his story through the gossip being shared over the table at lunch following the burial. It's a gentle book which moves a bit slowing but which spins a...

from MiserableLibrarian

Ah, no one tells a story like the Irish. Billy is a drunk, Billy is a fatalist, Billy is a realist, Billy is charming. His cousin's daughter tells the story of Billy, learned mostly through her father, of Billy's lost love and his life's frustration. Once again, there's little bitterness (but the...

from nycbookgirl

The book starts out with family members gathering together at a pub in the Bronx for the wake (they are Irish-American) of Billy Lynch. Yes, the charming Billy of the title is dead. He's left behind his wife Maeve, no children, but a slew of other family members. Maeve is holding up and even has ...