Customer Reviews

Golden Years (O'Malley Novels (Forge Hardcover))

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have read every book in the O'Malley family series and have thoroughly enjoyed each one. The first book, A Midwinter's Tale introduces you to Charles "Chucky" O'Malley and his entertaining family just before the start of WW1. You are also introduced to Rosemarie Clancy, Chucky's future wife.

Each book in the series covers a specific period of time. It is great to see the relationship of Chucky and Rosemarie progress in each book. Chucky's dream is to be an accountant, but he gets side tracked and becomes a famous photographer taking pictures of presidents and popes. The relationship between Chucky and Rosemarie is wonderful and realistic. Rosemarie comes from an abusive family and has a drinking problem. With the help of Chucky and his family, she is able to face her problems and deal with them. There are several times where Chucky gets tired of fighting her demons and is close to walking away, but he never does because of the love they share. Too much today, people are ready to divorce at the first sign of trouble, so it is very nice to read a story where each party works at dealing with their problems and staying together.

Through the books, you watch Chucky grow up. He serves in Germany during WW1, he goes to Rome to witness the seating of a new Pope and take his picture, his daughter runs off and joins a commune during the 60's, he becomes the US Ambassador for the president, all the while taking pictures that are considered outstanding by the public and still insisting that he wants to be an accountant. Rosemarie is by his side the whole time. They are there for each other no matter what. They have their fights and disagreements, but always come back to each other.

In this book, Chucky's wonderful father passes away, which Chucky has a hard time dealing with. He is now considered the "head" of the family, something he does not want to be. But with Rosemarie at his side, he deals with the day to day garbage that comes up, like dealing with an unstable, mentally disturbed sister, and also with the joys and happiness a family can bring.

Each book is a story on it's own, but I recommend starting at the beginning to avoid confusion in later books. You won't be disappointed.

I can't wait for the next book to be released. I don't normally keep books once I'm done with them, I usually pass them on so they can be enjoyed by others, but this series I'm keeping. I can see myself re-reading them in the future, which I rarely do. If you are interested in reading a great family series, this is the one! I highly recommend it!

My mother wanted this book and so I searched and found it on amazon through this seller. Timely arrival, book is fine; she loves it!

I love Andrew Greeley. As with many of his readers, my Catholic faith was, from time to time, a tad wobbly. However, Andrew Greeley reminds me of why I am a Catholic and makes me happy about it.

Andrew Greeley used to be known for page-turning excitement, vivid characters and an unusual sense of humor. As his literary output has grown to well over 100 books, his writing has grown lazy and out of touch. Golden Years is no exception.

Golden Years is the story of how Chucky and Rosemarie O'Malley and their extended family (the "Crazy O'Malleys) cope with the death of Chucky's parents. On the positive side, the story illustrates how believing Catholics can find hope for life in the death of a loved one. The scene where the Crazy O'Malleys perform "When the Saints Go Marching In" at the graveside of Chucky's father is one of the few inspired moments in the book. The sibling rivalry between oldest sister Jane and the rest of the family also rings pretty true. However, to get to these nuggets, the reader must wade through pages of filler. This is also the story of Chucky O'Malley falling in love with his wife again. We know this because the author and the characters tell us this--on nearly every page. Marital love expressed in playful foreplay and passionate coupling can be life affirming, but gets dull after the 10th or 20th scene. In this story, the obligatory mystery is mentioned almost in passing and gets solved without breaking a sweat.

Greeley's characters also grow more unbelievable and out of touch. This book is supposedly about the "Golden Years" of Chucky and Rosemary O'Malley. The characters are 53 and 49 respectively. In most people's lives, this is late middle age, a point where parents have to work extra hard to pay for kids in college, marriages, mortgages and saving for retirement. On Planet Greeley, it is a time of second adolescence where all of their financial needs are taken care of without the necessity of working and they can devote most of their attention to each other. The O'Malleys live in a beautiful house with an indoor swimming pool which apparently does not have a mortgage payment. Their five year old child is raised by a live-in nannny (who falls in love with their son). Their older childrens' college education apparently pays for itself. If they need to solve a mystery, they can just charter a Gulfstream jet.

To make all of this more infuriating, these idle rich characters go on at length about what great Irish Catholic Democrats they are. Ronald Reagan, Republicans and anyone in a position of authority are treated as crude, uneducated and lacking the O'Malleys' sophistication. In the real world, it was just this type of elitist thinking which caused many ethnic Catholics to bolt the Democratic party in the 1980s.

I continue to buy Father Greeley's books in the hope of finding something thought-provoking, inciteful or at least entertaining. However, with each new disappointment, it is becoming more difficult.

Our "golden years" are a time for reflection, keepsakes, memories of when life was good, as we wind down to becoming a senior citizen. This is a part of his series about the resilient family saga, the O'Malleys, following A MIDWINTER'S TALE (life in the '70s) and SECOND SPRING (the triump of steadfastness of the family in the '60s). Joe Moran graduated from Loyola Law School and invariably fell in the trap of falling in love with women from other cultures whose loyalty to their heritages would prove stronger than their affection for him.

Mr. Greely bases John M. Hayes (Father Jimmy) on John Raven, a man of gold and silver. Bride Mary O'Brian is a composite of a real person or persons as the wife of a high school friend of the O'Malleys. She and her young child disappear during the malaise of the '70s in Chicago.

He always incorporates sexual behavior of his characters in all of his novels. Shirley Eubank read all of his as they came out and told me how dirty they were to be written by a priest. He is a professor of the University of Chicago, alma mater of son Jeff, and continues to carry on a love affair with the Windy City. I loved it, too, the three times I was lucky enough to be there.

Nelson DeMille calls him "a master storyteller." In this book, he tries to show the readers how to make the best of their "Golden Years." Others in his reportorie include SEPTEMBER SONG, IRISH CREAM, EMERALD MAGIC, THE PRIESTLY SINS, and his autobiography, FURTHERMORE: CONFESSIONS OF A PARISH PRIEST. GOLDEN YEARS make a good read, as we attempt to enjoy life to its fullest in our golden years before time runs out.