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William Kennedy (1) (1928–)

Author of Billy Phelan's Greatest Game

For other authors named William Kennedy, see the disambiguation page.

William Kennedy (1) has been aliased into William J. Kennedy.

18+ Works 1,869 Members 31 Reviews 13 Favorited

Works by William Kennedy

Associated Works

Works have been aliased into William J. Kennedy.

Guys and dolls (1932) — Introduction — 212 copies
Mob: Stories of Death and Betrayal from Organized Crime (1656) — Contributor — 29 copies
Robert Penn Warren talking: Interviews, 1950-1978 (1980) — Interviewer — 14 copies
Battling Editor: The Albany Years (2019) — Foreword — 1 copy

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VERY OLD BONES (1992) is, not surprisingly, a damn good book, so I'm not sure why it sat on my shelf for over twenty years, unread. It's one of several novels which make up William Kennedy's "Albany Cycle." Kennedy grew up in Albany, where he attended Catholic high school, and then a Catholic college (Siena), also in Upstate NY. I've read a couple of his Albany books, LEGS and IRONWEED, thirty-some years ago, and enjoyed both, but especially the latter, which won the Pulitzer, and was also adapted into an acclaimed film, with Jack Nicholson as Francis, the wandering prodigal of the large, dysfunctional Phelan clan. BONES is a logical sequel to IRONWEED, set in an Albany twenty years later, in 1958, with Francis making only a brief appearance, but still looming large in the family's tragic history. The narrator here is Orson, the bastard son of Peter Phelan, an aging artist only recently gaining fame for his work, much of it derived from family stories and eccentric characters, Francis included. Orson delves deep into family - ancestors, sibling rivalries, Christianity, witches, superstition - as well as his own post-war military service in Germany, where he meets and marries the exotic Giselle and suffers a complete breakdown. We learn too of his unnatural attraction to his aunt Molly, who has her own hidden secrets. And there is Chick Phelan, the former seminarian, and Sarah, the domineering 'virgin' of the family, as well as the brain-damaged Tommy. All of these and more converge on the family home in Albany, for the reading of Peter's will. Oh, and Peter is still very much alive.

Like IRONWEED, this is what I would call a highly literary 'potboiler,' and I loved it. Very, very highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
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TimBazzett | 1 other review | Jun 5, 2023 |
I received an electronic copy of this book and thank NetGalley and Open Road Integrated Media.

William Kennedy's book about Daniel Quinn employs more words than I thought existed. I loved the words, I loved the characters and their travels, I loved the setting . The touch of mysticism, cynicism, phantasmagoria, were all whipped cream on the top of a great story. What an adventure, what an interesting way to be introduced to Albany in 1849. There is no question that I will explore Kennedy's other books.… (more)
 
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kimkimkim | 4 other reviews | Aug 21, 2017 |
Decently written book, but hard to get into. I didn't like the way Kennedy jumped from Havana to Albany - either or would have made a good story - didn't need both.

Props, though, to the cool reference to Bonheoffer's "cheap grace". Also liked the quote "after the dog a cold beer is man's best friend".
½
 
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DuffDaddy | 11 other reviews | Aug 23, 2016 |

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