|
North River: A Novel | 
| Author: Pete Hamill
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
Buy Used: $1.00
You Save: $13.99 (93%)
New (40) Used (47) from $1.00
Rating:  43 reviews
Sales Rank: 25526
Media: Paperback
Pages: 368
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.1
ISBN: 0316007994
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780316007993
ASIN: 0316007994
Publication Date: June 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Ex-Library. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More.
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
One snowy New Year's Day, in the midst of the Great Depression, Dr. James Delaney--haunted by the slaughters of the Great War, and abandoned by his wife and daughter--returns home to find his three-year-old grandson on his doorstep, left by his mother in Delaney's care. Coping with this unexpected arrival, Delaney hires Rose, a tough, decent Sicilian woman with a secret in her past. Slowly, as Rose and the boy begin to care for the good doctor, the numbness in Delaney begins to melt. Recreating 1930s New York with the vibrancy and rich detail that are his trademarks, Pete Hamill weaves a story of honor, family, and one man's simple courage that no reader will soon forget.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 38 more reviews...
 "Forever's" Missing Pieces Found in "North River" November 4, 2008
David Zimmerman (Baton Rouge, LA USA)
In his followup to "Forever", a sprawling "magical history" of New York City, journalist/novelist Pete Hamill streamlines both scope and genre to produce "North River", a family story set in Depression-era New York. Dr. James Delaney, a general practitioner serving mostly indigent clients during a time where no one has money, unexpectedly takes on the new challenge of single fatherhood when his daughter Grace leaves his toddler grandson Carlito on the doorstep on the way to a worldwide search for her revolutionary husband. Delaney's efforts to raise his young charge, care for his patients, and negotiate his way among the mobster scene (he treats WW I war buddy and mob boss Eddie Corso in the opening scene) carry the story until immigrant housekeeper and child caretaker Rosa joins the household. Unlike "Forever", the story here is compact enough that to reveal more would be a spoiler.
Hamill also softens the punchy journalistic style he displayed in "Forever", achieving a much more lyrical feel to what is a human story rather than a vehicle to recount history. Still, I enjoyed that Hamill set this story in the 20th century, the one period he bypassed in "Forever", which otherwise spanned more than 250 years. Readers who balked at the suspension of disbelief (i.e. that a man could live forever if he held to a shaman's orders) required to accept "Forever", will appreciate the simple story that Hamill tells here.
My whole family - myself, my wife, my father and mother - read and enjoyed "North River". Sit by a fire for a few hours this winter and enjoy it yourself. Five stars.
"North River" by Pete Hamill September 29, 2008
C. Betker (Lake Tahoe, California)
This is the best book I have read recently. I have read a lot
of books this past summer to recommend to my Book Club for us
to read and discuss, but most are depressing, uninteresting and
not well written.
Pete Hamill writes so well he gets you into the scene and
the characters and it is hard to put it down. I am going to
suggest to my Book Club that we choose it for our new selection
to read, because I want others to enjoy it as much as I did.
 True To The Times September 5, 2008
Daniel Putkowski (Aruba, DWI)
North River is not only about the loves of the main character, Dr. Delaney, it is about Pete Hamill's love of New York City. The book follows Delaney from the time he discovers his grandchild on his front step through a series of hard knocks and helping hands. Set during the Depression, Hamill imbues this book with all the sensitivity of people in need and people willing to help.
The center piece of the novel is the evolving relationship between Delaney and Rosa, a woman sent to help him raise his grandchild. As they find each other, the people of the neighborhood show themselves to be as human as the two main characters, complete with all the nuances one would expect from a melting pot of immigrants. At times the plot stutters but it's no bother. The characters carry you through this world that Hamill renders so clearly.
This book is best read in a couple of sittings, preferably in the winter, when you can gaze out the window and see the characters alive and well.
North River a joy from beginning to end August 28, 2008
C. Hays (Herrin, IL USA)
As an avid Pete Hamill fan, I was not disappointed in North River. I put it right up there with Forever and Snow in August. I was lost in the story, and felt a kinship with Dr. Delaney, Carlito, Rose, and Grace. I pictured Molly, and was sad when her remains were found, yet saw a clear path for Rose, which tempered my melancholy. In reading the reviews, I don't remember anyone mentioning the obscure allusion to Cormac O'Connor, the character from Forever. I enjoyed the tiny "cameo" appearance by another Hamill character that remains fondly in my memories.
C. Hays
Understanding another time July 22, 2008
BrianB (Northern California)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a well written novel about New York during the depression. The streets, neighborhoods, people and customs of that place are described in intimate detail. The story is a somber tale of loss, heartbreak, and hope. The characters suffer from generations of abandonment, and they reenact the same drama with their children. This is also the story of one courageous person who breaks the pattern.
As a physician, I could understand part of the protagonist's experience. He is exposed to so much pain and suffering that it changes his life. The author describes this in a remarkable way, one that is very accurate.
The writing is skillful, although this is not a page-turner. The pace is slow. There is as much reflection as there is action. Through this novel I came to better understand the constraints on people of that time and place. They risked social oblivion if they fell in love with someone of another class. I believe that it is an accurate portrayal of the social mores of the 1930's. Although I found myself depressed at some points, and considered moving on to other reading, I was ultimately glad that I finished the book. I did not always enjoy the novel while reading it, but enjoyment is only one reason to read. This is the type of book that you think about for a long time, one that changes the way you think about the people that came before us. That was worth the price of admission.
|
|
|
Can't find the right gift? Try a Gift Certificate
| |
