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Title: Easter Rising: An Irish American Coming Up from Under
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Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
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| Easter Rising: An Irish American Coming Up from Under by Houghton Mifflin NOT ! "ALL SOULS". | | After reading the author's first book, I prayed for a part two. To my disappointment this is not it!. It's as if an alien had possed the author and decided to re-write "ALL SOULS". Does this mean, the book was bad, no it does not mean that. It means that, the first book was written from such a different mindset (Night and day), has HUGE widespread appeal, and was so perfect (priceless): that somebody must have given this author some bad advice or false encourgement. Furthermore, while there are small parts that have that "wow effect" , the punk rock aspects, I overdosed on and sufficated this volume for me. If you ever read Mary Karr's "CHERRY" then I hope that will kind of enlighten you has to what my babble is trying to do, eventhough that was sort of a part two . In conclusion, while this author has a vast amount of heart, soul and talent and will most likely write more great books. It does not change the fact that I feel "Easter Rising" was a let down. | | Easter Rising: An Irish American Coming Up from Under by Houghton Mifflin "That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate" | So sang Mission of Burma, whose final concert, among so many others in the early 80s, MacDonald attended, as he struggled to break out of his Boston confines. This brisk sequel to "All Souls" (also reviewed by me recently on Amazon) concentrates more on the writer himself, whereas the earlier book explained his family of ten siblings (nine surviving but three to die tragically as young men and a sister in a coma) in South Boston. I found lots that sounded familiar. The tour when he first saw the Clash was the same one I went to, and my first "real" concert too. He conveys the culture clash also, as Mikey Dread's patois reminds Mike of his grandfather's Kerry-accented chatter. He learns about English culture and European ideas through the then small alternative music papers and song lyrics guide him into Camus and Marx. His education, as a dropout from prestigious Boston Latin, takes him into a vividly described underground scene, as the caché of hanging out in clubs and shops leads him into the NYC squats and speed. I'm not sure how or if he manages to attend classes to completion at UMass-- this decision barely gets an aside. Mostly, Mike appears drawn to the same flirtation with the dangers that mark his family and his neighborhood. Finally, the darkness of his own family, after mental illness, bank robbery, and sudden trauma claim his siblings, snaps him back.
However, there's no easy escape from Southie. The narrative tends to jump forward, and without the previous book, you'd have a hard time filling in the gaps. This is my reason for four stars: not that the lacunae are unexplained, but for the skips in the chronology that make it difficult to keep track of what happens when to him over three decades.
Therefore, after Mike's accounts of punk, hanging out, and getting out of the Old Colony before succumbing to it, the story leaps to London, where he sees the sights on the cheap, and then two trips to Ireland. The first is to Donegal, and while the inside dust jacket promises "two healing journeys to Ireland that are unlike anything in Irish American literature," there's only a familiar, if well-observed, story of the strange intimacy many returning Yanks have. The woman who gives you a lift, figures out in her head you're her fourth (or fifth) cousin, then drops you off with a casual farewell as if this proved but an everyday occurrence on a rural back road. The crowds with women who all look like one's grandmother, and the faces that finally mirror your own. The 'green jumper' that all 'big fellas' from America supposedly stand out by as they tramp and gawk among the bemused natives. And, for Mike, the racial undertones that link the Irish to blacks as surely as they have separated them in his hometown.
The coda, as it were, finds himself at thirty-two accompanying his braying Ma as she in her "Irish whisper" plays the accordion to tunes denouncing the Black and Tans and praising the IRA in the streets of London, complains over her headphones about the English, and generally making a spectacle of herself in the manner that readers of "All Souls" will smile at again. Yet, when she sees her father's cottage in Kerry, her son notes her change. Deeper voice, bent back, slower gait. In the ruins of her ancestral house, she finds her mother's cauldron and the shards of what had furnished the cabin. "Standing next to the dusty heap on the floor, I looked at the perfectly preserved picture of the Sacred Family hanging above the fireplace, with a banner that read BLESS THIS HOME. It was the one intact thing in a house that was in ruins. I couldn't take my eyes off it." (241)
As in the first memoir, MacDonald tends to underplay such dramatic moments in favor of unadorned storytelling. I'm not sure if the audience which longs for shamrockery will take to Mike's more sober tales. This narrative moves efficiently, and MacDonald does not call attention to himself or his woe so much as place it in contexts-- of the club scene, of the pub milieu, and of the psychological devastation that takes him in and out of counselling, hospitals and therapy to ease his aching head. These encounters with the academic and then medical establishment do not, as you might expect, pit a rebel hero against an uncaring system in McMurphy vs. The Combine stereotypical countercultural conflict, but Mike learns self-reliance and gradual acceptance of his own power to overcome the demons that attack so many around him.
Somehow, this manages to be one of the few recent books about Irish sold in America that lacks a paean from Frank McCourt, although his brother's quote graced the back hardcover of "All Souls" and may this in paperback. Whereas the first book evidently took time, this one may have been hastened by the four writer's retreats that he acknowledges, and funded by his screenplay for "All Souls" that's been optioned. | | Easter Rising: An Irish American Coming Up from Under by Houghton Mifflin "eat up now,God only knows when you'll eat again. Sure,it's a long road ahead." | What's an old guy,72,reading a book abot an bunch of young people growing up in Southie,South Boston,in the 70's and 80's;in an area wracked with drugs,violence and with little else of interest than rock music? I remember the days when School Busing as a form of Intregation was creating great upheaval in America and much of the news about difficulties seemed to come our of South Boston. I had never read much about Southie;so thought that it might be of interest as I have read much about the struggles of ethnic groups making their way in America.Most cities have had ,and still do,their areas where people ended up ,who lived outside the "mainstream",and had to do whatever it took ,just to survive...but survive they did!
I must admit,I found the book a little outside my interest in music , performers ,songs and band names;but it still held my interest and I found it better and better as I continued.By the time I finished,I felt it was one of the better books that I had ever read on the life,struggle and success of someone who overcame obstacles and an enviroment that to someone like myself would find totally discouraging. What a training ground,and anyone who managed to survive had to be remarkably strong. It shows that for anyone to survive and succeed,inner strengths,family ,determination,and taking on responsibility for oneself are the roads to success and not the reliance on government programs and social agencies.
When you see what the author did to make a success out of what he had to start with ;anyone else who finds themselves in similar enviroment should ask themselves; "So,What's my problem?
I found the author to be a great new,for me, addition to my list of favorite "Irish" writers and I have now put him in the company of my favorites; the McCourts,Roddy Doyle,Brendan Behan,Liam O'Flaherty,Toby Harnden,Brendan O'Carroll,Morgan Llywelyn,Pete Hamill,and many others.
Particularly,when the author arrives in Ireland,and he gets to meet the locals and observe the Irish culture;it seems that great gift of writing really blossoms.The way he can write about people,and especially how he can bring that wonderful mother to life in his writing shows,without any doubt, that he is a "gifted Irish Writer" .That seems to be a skill one has to be born with and it has been a fundamental ingredient of Irish culture sice the beginning;where communication was done by storytelling as opposed to writing.
How's this for observing and writing for which the Irish are so good at?
"And when she came back to the silence of Danny's grave,she carried on in a great mood about what a beautiful spot it was.Then she did what she'd told Buddy she would do,pulling the accordian onto one raised knee and breaking into "Danny Boy".
This opened every water faucet that had been closed so tightly that evening.Hannah,Mikey,and Catherine stood frozen,staring at the gravestone with hands folded,their tears falling in steady streams.I was terrified,the way I always was when Ma opened people's faucets.I wasn't sure if Ma was being appropriate,since I didn't know Danny's family at all well. Buddy had requested the playing,but I figured Ma ould do it when we were at he grave alone. Ma's red hair flew in all directions with the wind,exposing gray streaks at her temples,which I was seeing for the first time.She struggled to hold up the heavy accordian while standing,raising one thigh to prop it,and was soon balancing the whole spectacle on one foot. It was just past twilight,the sky was a deep dark blue,and the white stone of the religious statues shone out against the the backdrop of evening. Saint Patrick leading the snakes out of Ireland,the three children of Fatima kneeling in front of a serene Mary,Jesus' crucified body floating above us,his wooden cross invisible in the night.
Ma wailed the verses and settled down to a lullaby for the last line,
"I simply sleep in peace until you come to me."
We stood quietly for a few moments. I wasn't sure we'd be welcomed back at the Riordan's that night. Catherine broke the long,uncomfortable silence by soaking us all in a parting spray of holy water.Then she doused the grave.And we all went back to the cars in what seemed like a sudden descent of pitch darkness."
I can't wait to read more from this wonderful author.Keep it up Michael,you're really gifted. | | Easter Rising: An Irish American Coming Up from Under by Houghton Mifflin A Cathartic Sequel to "All Souls" | I read and highly enjoyed MacDonald's previous autobiographical book, "All Souls", and was interested in his latest book. I was not disappointed. Whereas "All Souls" has more of a focus on the author's family and the events of the 70s and 80s, "Easter Rising" is about specifically how MacDonald was able to pull himself out of the cycle of poverty. Here are some of my own observations.
I found MacDonald's journey into punk music fascinating. After his schizophrenic brother Davey committed suicide, he was looking for a way out of his own world. In punk music, he saw the musicians looking to destroy their world and create something new, and he immediately identified with them, wanting to destroy his own world that suicide and violence had ruined. In addition, I thought it interesting that he learned more about politics and history from the lyrics of punk music than through his classes at Bostin Latin.
MacDonald's journeys to Ireland proved to be cathartic. When he was 19, he traveled to London and Paris and ran out of money. He called his grandfather for money, but he would only give it to him if he promised to visit Ireland and some of his relatives. He hates Ireland at first, but then grew to love it. When he saw his biological father, George Fox, at his funeral, he relates that since his father lived outside of South Boston, he was hoping that he had a connection to the outside world. That's ultimately what he found in his relatives in Ireland.
His journey from the mindset of "South Boston is the whole world" to wanting to get out of there is quite emotional. After the death of Davey, then many other of his family members, he wanted to escape. At first, he would venture into downtown Boston, then New York, then finally out of the country. Growing out of the tribal mindset of his hometown was an important part of his development.
In conclusion, "Easter Rising" is a must-have for anyone who enjoys autobiography and American history. It gives a more intimate portrait of the author than "All Souls" did. One needn't necessarily read "All Souls" before "Easter Rising," but it's helpful. Finally, it's a moving story of personal growth that has a wider appeal than to people from Boston. | | Easter Rising: An Irish American Coming Up from Under by Houghton Mifflin Punk memoir with artful balance | I just finished Easter Rising, after disappointingly not hearing about it until very recently. What a gorgeous, powerful book. MacDonald is blunt when he needs to be blunt, and poetically detailed when it is worthwhile to do so, but without ever stumbling into flowery cliche. Everything I appreciate in a great storyteller. He brings you with him to feel the undeniable transcendence of a great punk show, just as he takes you along for that first eye-popping drive across Ireland.
A couple of spots hit me extra-hard. More than any one moment, the part where he met up with friends in line for tickets (Costello, was it?) after a tragedy at home -- that balance, or rather IMbalance, of wanting to tell someone without wanting to say anything, wanting human contact and company without having to explain things. And then to have the horrific near-death of a family member whittled down by friends to another "crazy" episode of life in the MacDonald family -- that really, really struck me. MacDonald does an incredibly adept job of illustrating what it feels like to rotate between leaning on family and leaning on the friends who are LIKE family, often looking to one for solace from the other.
There's this sort of odd juxtaposition in youth countercultures, where for a time, they save us. And then, at one point or another, we face the fact that they can't really save us, because they often aren't all they seem. Or they cease to be what they once were. Or we outgrow them. Or we're leaning on them too hard. Or there are inherent hypocrisies we can't overlook anymore. I don't know. But I know that I really related to MacDonald's love affair and disillusionment with the punk subculture, just as I echo his love and hate for the turbo-Irish enclave each of us grew up in.
And like so many of us, MacDonald loves and hates them like family who drive us up the wall sometimes. We know their flaws, and we know their limitations, but they are who WE are. And I so appreciate MacDonald telling (another) story that explains such complicated things so beautifully. | | Easter Rising: An Irish American Coming Up from Under by Houghton Mifflin Book Description | | A powerfully redemptive story of escape from the Irish American ghetto. Michael Patrick MacDonald's All Souls: A Family Story from Southie told the story of the loss of four of his siblings to the violence, poverty, and gangsterism of Boston's Irish American ghetto. The question "How did you get out?" has haunted MacDonald ever since. In response he has written this new book, a searingly honest story of reinvention that begins with young MacDonald's breakaway from the soul-crushing walls of Southie's Old Colony housing project and ends with two healing journeys to Ireland that are unlike anything in Irish American literature. The story begins with MacDonald's first urgent forays outside Southie, into Boston and eventually to New York's East Village, where he becomes part of the club scene swirling around Johnny Rotten, Mission of Burma, the Clash, and other groups. MacDonald's one-of-a-kind 1980s social history gives us a powerful glimpse of what punk music is for him: a lifesaving form of subversion and self-education. But family tragedies draw him home again, where trauma and guilt lead to an emotional collapse. In a harrowing yet hilarious scene of self-discovery, MacDonald meets his father for the first time -- much too late. After this spectacularly failed attempt to connect, MacDonald travels to Ireland, first as an alienated young man who has learned to hate shamrocks with a passion, and then on a second trip with his extraordinary "Ma," a roots journey laced with both rebellion and profound redemption. |
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