At Weddings and Wakes [Paperback]

Alice McDermott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 1993

Sipping  effortlessly between past and present, between  memory and observation, At Weddings And  Wakes tells the story of three generations  of an Irish-Catholic family through the eyes of its  younger members. At once a haunting  evocation of life's inexplicable calamities and a  magical celebration of childhood and familial  love, At Weddings And Wakes  transforms every experience into the heroic and the  universal. It is a testament to the remarkable gift of  a literary master writing at the peak of her story  telling powers.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Telling a story through the eyes of children is a tricky business, which is that much more proof of what a magician Alice McDermott happens to be. At Weddings and Wakes, her engrossing portrayal of love and tragedy in an Irish-Catholic family, takes us along with the kids as they accompany their mother on weekly visits to a world of memory and recrimination in the family's old Brooklyn neighborhood. An exquisitely executed little novel that masks all its hard work and complex structure behind finely wrought lace curtains of craft.

From Publishers Weekly

This nuanced, elegiac and emotionally charged evocation of a close-knit Irish Catholic family--a BOMC selection in cloth--spent five weeks on PW 's hardcover bestseller list.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Dell (February 2, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440215234
• ISBN-13: 978-0440215233
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,717,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading several times, November 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: At Weddings and Wakes (Paperback)

Beautifully written and highly evocative, the story stays with you like a childhood memory. The depiction of the father through the children's eyes is marvelous. This is one of my favorite books.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Monet, January 10, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: At Weddings and Wakes (Paperback)

More like a Monet than a photograph, McDermott's, "At Weddings and Wakes" reveals its beauty by memory impressions rather than by the harsh black lines of plot. No less lost than others who have written here in the ebb and flow of the timeline, I, however, trusted the author. And soon I was intermixing with the memories of the book my own childhood memories - and identifying, in the moment, with the joys and tragedies of this family. I dare suggest any who read this book, liking it or not, will find themselves remembering family stories of times past - memories happy and sad, with characters tragic and heroic and possibly rethinking them in the light of McDermott's graceful treatment of such moments. It was an exquiste read. That is, for those who are comfortable with impressions leading you to see clearly the beauty in life's tragedies and joys, as like a Monet painting. But if you need/seek/want the clarity of a photograph for beauty - skip this book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a family history through the memories of the children, October 23, 2000

By 

jeanne-scott (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At Weddings and Wakes (Paperback)

At Weddings and Wakes was a very interesting look at the history of a family through the collected (not collective) memories of the children who saw the developments through their child-eyes. The details that are so clear to a child, the sounds,the tastes, the physical feel of things, the lack of conversational detail and nuance, the end results of the day, all give a clean and simple feel to this story. The way that the different children have a slightly different perspective on the same occasion or type of occasion was insightful beyond ordinary reason. The children did not automatically connect one happening in their lives to another. To them there was no trainload of fault and blame to be emptied at every unhappy ( or happy) occurance. Sometimes good things just happen, sometimes bad. They seemed to feel that life just unfolded itself for them to observe it. The simplicity of a childs acceptance of things in their life is accomplished only through the complex thought and the gentle hand of an excellent writer like Alice McDermott. The entire novel was like a walk through the park holding a child's hand, as they open their heart to you completely, trying to help you understand life as they perceive it. Alice McDermott seems to know that it is not the destination but the journey itself that make life worthwhile.