Liam's Going: A Novel [Hardcover]

Michael Joyce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002

An Autograph Edition of 1500 numbered copies signed by the author.

This weekend Liam's going away to college, and his mother, Cathleen Hogan Williams, is taking him there, driving south along the Hudson. For Liam, impatience to arrive at a new destination rubs against the anxiety of a future apart. For Cathleen, the trip has a second purpose: a long-suppressed love affair she had before conceiving him has resurfaced in a poem she is trying to write. Noah, her husband, endures the new separation at home...until an elderly Irish enchantress, a client of his law practice, leads him to recalculate what he himself may have left behind in his youth. For this couple, married and alone, Liam's going ripples outward across the surface of their marriage, the melange of their intertwining memories.

Michael Joyce's new novel is an affecting song of the rites of passage--startlingly beautiful in its prose, even more so in its recognitions. In Liam's Going, Joyce--the foremost American author working in the new electronic artform of “hypertext”--has returned to his storytelling roots.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Joyce's new print novel, following many acclaimed hypertext works, addresses with powerful lyricism two parents' psychological adjustments to their son's departure for college, but despite an ear attuned (as in past efforts) to the workings of families, its framework and tone do not always harmonize. As Cathleen, a poet, drives her son, Liam, to school in upstate New York, her husband, Noah, a lawyer, stays behind; in his wife's absence, he helps an 80-year-old dowager administer her estate. While briefly separated, both Cathleen and Noah revel in memories of thrilling illicit dalliance, their last moments of youth Cathleen's an affair she had during the year following her marriage, Noah's a series of intense encounters with a French poet during his 19th summer. Constructed much like a poem, the novel is composed of artfully juxtaposed lines of dialogue, details and descriptive phrases; its narrative jumps among present, past and beyond convince us that the present is only a thin netting tossed over the past. Joyce's characters are distinct Cathleen is Oberlin educated and sensitive, Noah is materialistic but soulful and Liam is sullen but capable of articulate outbursts yet they move in too soft a focus to be entirely believable. Despite a few embarrassingly human moments, such as when Cathleen feels sexual longing for her son or 18-year-old Noah finds himself frightened by the beauty of the French poet whom he has seen only in the dark, these characters rarely reveal imperfections that might make them convincingly human. Still, Joyce's language is often gorgeously musical, and the novel has numerous quiet pleasures to impart. (Sept. 9)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Liam's Going is an introspective, thoughtful, and ultimately emotionally rewarding story. -- Midwest Book Review(five stars)

The attentive reader is guaranteed several worthwhile epiphanies per chapter. --ForeWord Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 207 pages
• Publisher: McPherson; 1 edition (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929701666
• ISBN-13: 978-0929701660
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,598,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic Ride Into a Family History, February 9, 2011

By 

William of Occam - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Liam's Going (Paperback)

I was delighted to read Michael Joyce's book," Liam's Going." As indicated
by other reviewers, it is a poetic excursion on a simple starting concept -
the prime excursion of mother and son to the son's college. It ends up
being not just a poetic road trip through New York's Hudson Valley, but
a revelation of the family's history. Rich in imagery and language, it reminds
the reader of the work of Irish and Welsh poets of the past, while embarking
on a very modern American trip. In short, a delightful work of modern
literature. Highly recommended!

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written, October 31, 2008

By 

Read More Books - See all my reviews

This review is from: Liam's Going (Paperback)

One can tell that Michael Joyce is a seasoned writer, who takes his craft quite seriously. His writing is beautiful, and in my opinion, unusual. In "Liam's Going" he creates a memorable story about love and loss, about a family trying to come to peace with the past and present. On the surface this novel tells the simple tale of a son going to college--but meaningful musings lay within this fine work.

5.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful, and ultimately emotionally rewarding story, November 9, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Liam's Going: A Novel (Hardcover)

Liam's Going by Michael Joyce is a deftly written novel about a young man named Liam who is about to go off to college. Yet his departure has repercussions on the strained marriage of his parents, each of whom must confront different pulls and separate loves in their lives. Liam's Going is a introspective, thoughtful, and ultimately emotionally rewarding story. Also highly recommended is Michael Joyce's early novel, The War Outside Ireland (Tinkers Dam Press, 0943608015, [$$$]).