Call number
FIC KEN
Collection
Genres
Publication
The Viking Press (1992), Edition: 1st, 304 pages
Description
For William Kennedy fans, Albany conjures up a tapestry of great beauty and complexity in which the lives of an Irish American family are woven. Earlier Albany novels, including Ironweed, a Pulitzer Prize-winner, whetted our appetites. Now Very Old Bones treats us to one last look at the odd and turbulent Phelans, circa 1958. Stretching the boundaries of life as the Phelans know it, this powerful work flows back and forth in time, riding on the melody of its language. Its great theme is the promise of redemption for those who seek it.
Subjects
User reviews
LibraryThing member Griff
An exorcism of Phelan family demons by means of an artistic rendering of a family exorcism. Kennedy brings us through the generations of Phelans - a family filled with its share of difficult times and dysfunctional relationships. In the end there is a path to move forward, though certainly not
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totally secured. The Albany series as a whole is very well done, with interesting characters that the reader cares about. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Show Less
LibraryThing member TimBazzett
VERY OLD BONES (1992) is, not surprisingly, a damn good book, so I'm not sure why it sat on my shelf for over twenty years, unread. It's one of several novels which make up William Kennedy's "Albany Cycle." Kennedy grew up in Albany, where he attended Catholic high school, and then a Catholic
Like IRONWEED, this is what I would call a highly literary 'potboiler,' and I loved it. Very, very highly recommended.
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
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college (Siena), also in Upstate NY. I've read a couple of his Albany books, LEGS and IRONWEED, thirty-some years ago, and enjoyed both, but especially the latter, which won the Pulitzer, and was also adapted into an acclaimed film, with Jack Nicholson as Francis, the wandering prodigal of the large, dysfunctional Phelan clan. BONES is a logical sequel to IRONWEED, set in an Albany twenty years later, in 1958, with Francis making only a brief appearance, but still looming large in the family's tragic history. The narrator here is Orson, the bastard son of Peter Phelan, an aging artist only recently gaining fame for his work, much of it derived from family stories and eccentric characters, Francis included. Orson delves deep into family - ancestors, sibling rivalries, Christianity, witches, superstition - as well as his own post-war military service in Germany, where he meets and marries the exotic Giselle and suffers a complete breakdown. We learn too of his unnatural attraction to his aunt Molly, who has her own hidden secrets. And there is Chick Phelan, the former seminarian, and Sarah, the domineering 'virgin' of the family, as well as the brain-damaged Tommy. All of these and more converge on the family home in Albany, for the reading of Peter's will. Oh, and Peter is still very much alive. Like IRONWEED, this is what I would call a highly literary 'potboiler,' and I loved it. Very, very highly recommended.
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
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Pages
304
ISBN
0670834572 / 9780670834570