Billy Phelan, small-time bookie, pool hustler, and poker player becomes an unlikely go-between in the 1938 kidnapping of an Albany political boss's son.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'll lay 1-9 odds that you'll like this book.,
By
This review is from: Billy Phelan's Greatest Game (Paperback)
"Billy Phelan's Greatest Game" by William Kennedy is a mesmerizing, hysterical, and suspenseful romp through Depression-era Albany. Read the first chapter, where Billy bowls someone "to death", and I seriously doubt that you will put the book down. Billy is one of the most memorable characters in William Kennedy's galaxy, moreso than Francis Phelan in my book. Billy is a risk-taker, a guy whose heart is in the right place, and a rough-and-tumble sort that relies on his confidence in the midst of trouble. And these are the qualities that make him the inevitable, although unwilling, middle-man in a kidnapping negotiation. Billy's world of gamblers, drinkers, sharks, corrupt Albany lackies, and broken families is dark and smoky but never despairing or hopeless. And Billy's moral calculus is a bright spot in this otherwise bleak setting. For my money, "Billy Phelan's Greatest Game" is the best of three in the Albany cycle. I found "Legs" to be slow-going and lacking focus. "Ironweed" is a sensational book, a close second to this novel, but its plot of two drinkers going from job to job, joint to joint, drink to drink does begin to wear down. "Billy Phelan's Greatest Game" has a good deal of plot tension, moral conflicts, humor, and a wider array of characters. I'm in the minority here, and that's fine, but in my analysis it's
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
favorite kennedy trip,
By A Customer
This review is from: Billy Phelan's Greatest Game (Paperback)
Billy Phelan is my fave of the great Kennedys' books. Billy is a fun guy to roam about with, listen to, learn from and even be inspired by. He is a great pool shooter, decent poker player, half-ass bookie and lovely raconteur.He takes the world as it comes and dives in to any and all of it with gusto and guts.Kennedy tosses in illustrative examples of the magic in daily life and the importance of being able to bounce back from those inevitable moments of (temporary!) defeat. All this told in Kennedys fine voice, a voice like that of a chain-smoking angel who can tell a snappy joke or a dazzling blue stretcher. What fun.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
man about town,
By "seniorreader" (Santa Clara, California United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Billy Phelan's Greatest Game (Paperback)
Billy Phelan, son of long gone Francis (Ironweed) has become a "man about town" on the streets of Albany. A snappy dresser, willing to participate in, or bet on, any game in town, has found himself caught up in a kidnapping. This isn't just another game and Billy must play the game of his life for his life.Again Kennedy has the talent to make his wide variety of characters true. My advice is to read this book before Flaming Corsage. The whole cast is there.
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Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs):
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Daddy Big, Charlie Boy, Red Tom, Billy Phelan, Martin Daugherty, Morrie Berman, Colonie Street, Pearl Street, New York, Edward Daugherty, Max Rosen, The Flaming Corsage, Clinton Avenue, Francis Phelan, Legs Diamond, Arbor Hill, George Quinn, Lemon Lewis, North End, Emory Jones, Jake Berman, Mary Daugherty, Monte Carlo, North Albany, Scotty Streck New!
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Daddy Big, Charlie Boy, Red Tom, Billy Phelan, Martin Daugherty, Morrie Berman, Colonie Street, Pearl Street, New York, Edward Daugherty, Max Rosen, The Flaming Corsage, Clinton Avenue, Francis Phelan, Legs Diamond, Arbor Hill, George Quinn, Lemon Lewis, North End, Emory Jones, Jake Berman, Mary Daugherty, Monte Carlo, North Albany, Scotty Streck New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
20
books
cite this book:
See all 20 books citing this book
- Contemporary American Fiction: An Introduction to American Fiction since 1970 by Kenneth Millard on 4 pages
- Sporting with the Gods: The Rhetoric of Play and Game in American Literature (Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture) by Michael Oriard on page 285, Back Matter, and Index
- The Reading List: Contemporary Fiction: A Critical Guide to the Complete Works of 125 Authors by David Rubel on page 173, and page 174
- Legs by William J. Kennedy in Front Matter, and Back Cover
- AN Albany Trio by William Kennedy in Copyright, and Back Cover
See all 20 books citing this book
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