Lullabies for Little Criminals: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)

~ Heather O'neill (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A down-and-dirty debut novel, a harrowing recital of a young life, a funny, innocent, streetwise telling of life on the street--all of the above describe Heather O'Neill's Lullabies for Little Criminals. In an autobiographical essay included in the book, O'Neill, whose own childhood parallels rather closely the life of Baby, her book's heroine, says, "In Lullabies, I wanted to capture what I remembered of the drunken babbling of unfortunate twelve-year-olds: their illusions; their ludicrously bad choices, their lack of morality and utter disbelief in cause and effect." She accomplishes all of the above and more.

Baby is born to two 15-year-olds, and her mother dies a year later. Her father, Jules, is not a bad man, but he is a perpetual kid, without money, education, purpose, moral compass, or any idea of what being a parent is about or how ordinary people live. When the novel begins, Baby is almost 12, and her 12th year turns out to be a very big one indeed. She smokes pot, shoots heroin, loses her virginity, and lives in foster homes, a state detention home, and one seedy, squalid apartment after another. She comes under the spell of Alphonse, a neighborhood pimp, and is so hungry for male affection that she mistakes what he offers for love and care.

Baby and her equally neglected and abused friends long for adulthood, whatever that means. They look up to sophisticated druggies and efficient thieves. Baby says, "I don't know why I was upset about not being an adult. It was right around the corner. Becoming a child again is what is impossible. That's what you have a legitimate reason to be upset over." Baby is matter-of-fact about her predicament. She knows that other kids have lives very different from hers but says, "It never occurs to you when you are very young to need something other than what your parents have to offer to you." This poignant story is beautifully written, sprinkled throughout with humor, pathos, unbelievable privation, and, in the end, the hope of redemption. At least we know that Heather O'Neill grew up to be a writer of no mean accomplishment. --Valerie Ryan

From Publishers Weekly

In her debut novel, This American Life contributor O'Neill offers a narrator, Baby, coming of age in Montreal just before her 12th birthday. Her mother is long dead. Her father, Jules, is a junkie who shuttles her from crumbling hotels to rotting apartments, his short-term work or moneymaking schemes always undermined by his rage and paranoia. Baby tries to screen out the bad parts by hanging out at the community center and in other kids' apartments, by focusing on school when she can and by taking mushrooms and the like. (She finds sex mostly painful.) Stints in foster care, family services and juvenile detention ("nostalgia could kill you there") usually end in Jules's return and his increasingly erratic behavior. Baby's intelligence and self-awareness can't protect her from parental and kid-on-kid violence, or from the seductive power of being desired by Alphonse, a charismatic predator, on the one hand, and by Xavier, an idealistic classmate, on the other. When her lives collide, Baby faces choices she is not equipped to make. O'Neill's vivid prose owes a debt to Donna Tartt's The Little Friend; the plot has a staccato feel that's appropriate but that doesn't coalesce. Baby's precocious introspection, however, feels pitch perfect, and the book's final pages are tear-jerkingly effective. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (October 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060875070
• ISBN-13: 978-0060875077
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #300,035 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Innocence never had, January 13, 2007

By	Kris (Texas) - See all my reviews

Heather O'Neill's novel is not for the faint of heart. This is a raw and grimy account of a girl, ironically named Baby, who grows up with no mother, an addict father, and an uncanny ability to survive even the most desperate of circumstances. Set in Montreal's red-light district, readers delve into the underbelly of both a city and its culture through the eyes of its adolescent protagonist.

Read this novel with a pen because you will want to mark the absolutely gorgeous turns of phrases and descriptions. O'Neill's writing is beautifully sad- "My breath in the cold air was bleach that accidentally spilled on a black t-shirt" is just one, small example.

Ultimately, Baby's story is compelling, and that's what kept me reading, despite her miserable circumstances. Her appreciation for little kindnesses and glimpses into "normalcy" provide an insight into a world that few authors are able to describe without sounding like a Lifetime movie. I look forward to O'Neill's next work.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read from a fantastic writer, November 12, 2006

By	Sarah Foraker - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I loved this book for three different reasons: the writing style, story line, and themes. Wow. First, I have to say that the author is a master at figurative language. There are lines in the book that I read, reread, and reread. Absolutely loved them.

Next, I loved the story line and fell in love with Baby. I wanted to take Baby home and give her the love she so desperately needed.

Last, I teach students just like Baby. My classrooms are full of girls and boys just like her. Baby's story made me stop and think about those kids that I might have overlooked in one way or another. Baby reached out subtly and perhaps I'm missing those subtle clues from my students.

This is a must read. Please write another book, Ms. O'Neil!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking forward to more from the author, May 4, 2007

By	gem.meg (Pomona, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Heather O'Neill deserves a round of applause for this book. The characters she creates are vivid and heart-breaking; the writing, evocative.

Baby and Jules' story is one of grim hope. Despite miserable circumstances and bad decisions left and right, you find yourself rooting for the characters. Throughout the story's twists and turns, you can feel Baby's struggle to adjust to everything thrown at her. You can feel her desperate need for love, as well as her unconditional love for the people in her life, especially her father.

Lullabies for Little Criminals shows us the world through the 12-year-old eyes of Baby. It is a world where you take happiness where you can find it.