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Terrible Angel: A Novel of Michael Collins in New York
 
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Terrible Angel: A Novel of Michael Collins in New York [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Dermot McEvoy (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)


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Book Description

March 1, 2004
"Terrible Angel is a novel so intriguing you'll keep turning the pages."
-Frank McCourt, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Angela's Ashes

"Terrible Angel is literally a marvelous novel. No novel could be more Irish or more American."
-Pete Hamill, author of Snow in August and A Drinking Life

On August 22, 1922, Michael Collins was assassinated at Beal na mBlath in County Cork. The charismatic Collins was 31 years old and the leader of the Irish Free State. In the previous six years he had been busy: He fought in the 1916 Easter Rebellion, invented the IRA, financed the new Irish state, assassinated the entire British Secret Service in Dublin, and negotiated the treaty that drove the British out of twenty-six counties of Ireland for the first time in 700 years.
Terrible Angel, Dermot McEvoy's suspenseful and lightning-paced romp through New York's streets, finds Collins 70 years after his bloody death desperately seeking to make amends for his violent life by completing one last worldly mission: springing a wrongly accused Irishman from the clutches of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the British MI-5, and a certain life sentence in a British jail.
You'll meet a cast of characters that entertains, frightens, and amazes: Tommy Butler-a 275-pound bartender at Greenwich Village's famed Lion's Head saloon who can tell a tale and handle a thug with equal ease. Earl Holder-a retired black detective first grade, NYPD, with a nose for intelligence and a passion for justice. Sadie Robinson-a homeless woman who becomes Collins's guide to a grimy underworld that few New Yorkers ever see. Naomi Ottinger-the sexy Village bartender who knows what she wants, and she wants Michael Collins. Quentin Quinney-a double-dealing detective in NYPD's intelligence unit who's after Collins's head. Sir Ian Boxer-Clegg-chief of MI-5's Belfast Division, with a penchant for the more exotic things in life, be they fine wines, young boys, or fugitive Fenians.



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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The great tradition of Irish-American literature welcomes a bright new light with this stunning first novel. Michael Collins is, of course, the Irish revolutionary/terrorist who created the IRA and negotiated the peace treaty with the British that gave rise to the Irish Free State; in 1922, only 31 but already head of state, Collins was killed by rebel forces. In this colorful, suspenseful and moving reimagination by McEvoy, a PW contributing editor, Collins awakens in Heaven after 70 years in Purgatory to be handed a task that will determine his soul's final fate: God, with Michael the Archangel as his intermediary, orders Collins to go to Manhattan to spring from behind bars one Martin Twomey, falsely accused of terrorism and about to be extradited to Britain to stand trial; the hitch is that Collins must not use violence to free Twomey. In New York, Collins makes contact with several IRA sympathizers, confronts several enemies-most notably a corrupt NYPD detective and the sadistic head of MI-5's Belfast Division-and taking inspiration from a common street scam, hatches a clever plan. McEvoy's meticulous depictions of the city's neighborhoods and characters reveal a deep knowledge and love of Gotham, and provide strong grounding for the story's fantastic elements; the salty, witty dialogue expertly sparks the narrative as it surges toward its satisfying conclusion. Most impressive is the author's rich portrayal of Collins, here neither saint nor devil but a flawed, good man struggling to do right without resorting to bloodshed. In Collins's heartfelt, necessarily brief affair with a Jewish bartender, McEvoy captures the poignancy of human temporality; he evokes, in a voice as fresh as sea spray, the indomitable romance of the Irish spirit.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In August 1922, Michael Collins, chairman of the Provisional Government and commander in chief of the Irish Free State Army, was assassinated. Seventy years later, newly liberated from purgatory and at the door of heaven, he's told that he has to atone for his violent acts by freeing an innocent Irishman from a lockup by the Immigration and Naturalization Service in New York. Provided that the reader accepts this premise, is willing to maintain a continuous suspension of disbelief (accepting angels and miraculous events in sometimes awkward juxtaposition with many realistic details), and doesn't mind the meshing of past and present (usually deftly handled), McEvoy's debut is an intriguing tapestry-part recollection of New York in 1914 (during an imagined visit of Collins to the city), part 20th-century Irish history, and part suspense novel. It's the latter that provides the scaffolding for a group of stereotypical New York City characters out to help or hinder the protagonist, including bartenders (male and female), detectives (good and bad), a homeless woman, and the gay chief of MI-5's Belfast Division. A novel of some potential; order where subject matter is of interest to patrons.
Ronnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (March 1, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1592284175
  • ASIN: B001QCX15M
  • Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,539,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Should be a terrific film!, October 28, 2002
This whimsical, light comedy of "ancient Irish revolutionaries and mad archangels, all having [weird] fits," is just made for the screen! Telling the tale of famed Irish revolutionary Michael Collins, "The Big Fellow," who died in an ambush ten days after becoming head of the Irish Republic in 1922, McEvoy improbably brings him to life in New York City in the present day. Having spent these years since his death in Purgatory, Collins is the beneficiary of some "pull" by Sean O'Connell and Padraic Pearse with the Archangel Michael, who gives Collins one chance, at last, to make it into heaven. All he has to do is perform one earthly deed--spring Martin Twomey, an innocent man, from jail and prevent his deportation by INS to face trumped-up murder charges Britain.

Although author McEvoy includes a serious and helpful "Fenian's Who's Who," along with a prologue explaining the history of the Irish revolution, this is a far-from-serious, slapstick novel, relying on all the tried and true tricks of comic film for effect. Collins in New York is a man out of time, unfamiliar with everything that has happened in the world since 1922, allowing McEvoy to poke fun at his ignorance of modern inventions, clothing styles, politics and World War II, and changes in religion and social behavior. Throw-away lines about JFK, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Mayor Koch, about the fact that Collins looks like Liam Neeson (who played Collins in the recent film), and about Michael Collins, the U.S. astronaut, are only a few of the comic references which keep this story hopping.

As is characteristic of broad comedy, much of the humor relies on stereotypes--the Bing Crosby-type priest, the huge and good-hearted bartender, the rapacious double agent, the down-on-her-luck vagrant with a heart of gold, the arrogant and boozing British official with a secret life, and even the archangel Michael appearing in thunderclaps and whirlwinds to remind Michael Collins of his mission. The humor is far more visual than literary, and the book is loaded with sentimentality, easy aphorisms, and moralizing, something one is more likely to accept in a light-humored film (where a character can raise an eyebrow when things sound preachy) than in a novel. As long as a reader can accept the premise--that a revolutionary like Collins, responsible for the execution of the entire British secret service in Dublin--is (like Colonel Klink on Hogan's Heroes) an appropriate subject for humor, the reader will be mightily entertained by this fast-paced spoof. Mary Whipple
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "Go dTe'ghe Tu,Mo Mhuirnin,Slan"...May you go well,my love,safely., June 11, 2007
What a "sleeper" ! This novel was published in 2002,and until I came across it a couple of days ago in a bookstore;I had not heard about it, or even its author,Dermot McEvoy.I read a lot of Irish books,so, in a bookstore I tend to notice any green colored books. That was what first caught my eye.When I picked it up;the title was new to me;then the sub-title "A Novel of Michael Collins in New York" .I immediately thought;"I never knew Michael Collins went to New York"..what gives here? Then I noticed the liner at the top;"Terrible Angel is a novel so intriguing you'll keep turning the pages"--Frank McCourt.Flipping the book I saw the comments by,Pete Hamill,Christopher Nolan and Terry Golway.
Now ,if you read anything by Irish writers,you'll immediately recognize these names as the best of the best today. But where did this writer Dermot McEvoy come from? I bought the book and couldn't get home fast enough to "get into it".
This is an excellent read,filled with information and excitement,characters from the past and from the present,some real,some fictional and others that can only be described as Spirits. McEvoy starts off with giving information on many of the personalities who were central to the Troubles (1916-1923),personalities of the present day,70 years after Michael Collins's assassination in 1922.
If you know nothing about the period of the Troubles (1916-1922) or Irish life in New York,you may not understand everything going on in this novel,but the author has done a very good job of explaining things as the story unfolds.
The concept of the story is very unusual,and such a well conceived story by an unheard of writer (at least by me);coupled with writing skills we have come to recognize from modern Irish writers like Doyle,The McCourts,Hamill,Golway,Nolan and others;certainly makes this novel a wonderful surprise. With the skills we see in MacEvoy's first novel,I am sure we are going to see more from him and I'll be looking forward to them.
MaEvoy was born in Dublin in 1950,emigrated to New York with his family in 1954 ,knows and has lived the Irish life,understands with a passion Irish history,knows how the Church is the heart and soul of everything Irish,and brings to his writing only what 55 years of living this culture can produce.
The novel is sprinkled with lines that are Irish to the core and will remain with you for a long time.

"Whatever you think of the British,always remember they are
fookin'cunning.Never underestimate them."

"He knew that the opposite of love was not hate,but indifference.
Hate,like love,can stimulate,but indifference deadens the soul."

"He had gone from rabid anticleric to craw-thumping gunman in a matter
of years.God was good,but Collins kept his Luger."

"Lord let me die...but not die out."

"Under British law you're innocent until proven Irish."

"In case we get separated,Martin, always remember Ireland.And always do
the right thing for her-- no matter what the consequences."

"--Michael Collins,on the emerald green wings of an Archangel,ascended
into heaven for all eternity."

Boy,what a movie this would make!

Thanks, Dermot McEvoy,with this novel you have made your place amongst
the many fine Irish Writers we enjoy today!

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Read!!!, June 19, 2006
By 
Rachel Schweissinger "u2rent" (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I bought this book on a whim and I did not want it to end. I kept delaying it until I could not stand it anymore. It had me in tears, even if it did had a happy ending. A little rough around the edges but it really makes you think about what Michael Collins would have done in modern America, from dealing with modern romance and issues of right and wrong to Black and Tan drinks and car alarms. It made me love the man even more!!
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