End Of The Class War, The [Hardcover]

Catherine Brady (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1999

As stark and moving as Angela's Ashes, Brady's collection is a poignant exploration of working class Irish American life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 14 interlinked stories in this moving collection are beautifully crafted snapshots of Irish immigrants to American cities (Chicago, San Francisco) in 1950. "It's no mercy... seeing into the insides of things, into the secret ways by which the bones absorb shock and mend themselves... " but Brady does it with compassion and joy. Her short fictions capture critical moments in the lives of the working-class women who absorb shocks, mend, go on. The opening tale introduces "The Daley Girls," five sisters; their hard-working, hard-drinking, bewildered, enraged father, Joe; and their trapped, overworked, brutalized and heroic mother, Maureen. "Don't Walk," portrays Nora, the useful maiden aunt, who gave up her Ph.D., the engine of her escape, to help her mother care for her disabled father as she now helps her sister Maureen care for her children. In "Rumpelstiltskin," the damaged, crippled vets in the VA hospital long for the freedom of death, while in "Lives of the Saints," Danny, age seven, fights against the cruel restraints of spina bifida while his mother takes on other hopeless causes, knowing "suffering brings us closer to God." The overwhelming need to escape despair may be depressing, but these stories light the family's churning characters in full motionAthey are jubilant, indomitable. Later, in "Home Movies" and "Driving," the Daley girls have grown up, following the current into middle-class America, no longer subject to the daily humiliations of the working-class poor. The final story presents three generations of women closely perceived, as they battle the cycle of life that is particularly female, burdened, courageous, kind and human. Agent, Jandy Nelson, Manus & Associates Literary Agency. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

...the author succeeds in breathing new life into well-worn archetypes. -- The New York Times Book Review, Jenifer Berman --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: CALYX Books (June 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0934971676
• ISBN-13: 978-0934971676
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,183,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars funny and sad at once, as only an Irish writer can be, June 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: End Of The Class War, The (Hardcover)

These stories touched me. As an Irish American woman, I found touchstones for my own experience in the lives of Brady's characters, women who are sometimes submissive, sometimes rebellious, but always strong in spirit. I was so moved by the book I looked on MetaCrawler for more information about the author. I found her website at http://members.xoom/mahri/cbrady.html. There's an interview with the author that offers insight into the stories as well as a reader's guide. The women in the stories are struggling to meet the demands of work and the needs of their families, and this really struck me as an issue any woman today can relate to.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is the most amazing collection of short stories!, May 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: End Of The Class War, The (Hardcover)

This collection of short stories gives an insightful, creative, amazing twist to the lives of working class, Irish American women who are held back in life by guilt and religious beliefs, but when they try, they astound everyone!

5.0 out of 5 stars A cool collection captures celtic-american women., May 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: End Of The Class War, The (Paperback)

Ms. Brady is to be watched, or better, read. These stories offer a contemporary bop on the lives of American women of Irish descent (and I do mean descent). The characters are beautifully drawn with great subtlety and wit; and the stories give us hope -- which we need in this dark world of ours. I read them all in two sittings.