Sunday, April 12, 2015

SMALL MERCIES: A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
SMALL MERCIES
BY EDDIE JOYCE
  
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A startling and tender portrait of one family’s struggle to make peace with their son’s death

An ingeniously layered narrative, told over the course of one week, Eddie Joyce’s debut novel masterfully depicts an Italian-Irish American family on Staten Island and their complicated emotional history. Ten years after the loss of Bobby—the Amendola family’s youngest son—everyone is still struggling to recover from the firefighter’s unexpected death. Bobby’s mother, Gail; his widow, Tina; his older brothers Peter, the corporate lawyer, and Franky, the misfit; and his father, Michael, have all dealt with their grief in different ways. But as the family gathers together for Bobby Jr.’s birthday party, they must each find a way to accept a new man in Tina’s life while reconciling their feelings for their lost loved one.

In unflinching but lyrical prose, Joyce shows us one mother’s struggle to keep her family together and preserve the memory of her son. Following Gail as she moves from the corner offices of white-shoe Manhattan law firms to the blue-collar gin mills of the outer boroughs, Small Mercies reveals a different New York, one that exists in the hearts and minds of its inhabitants.

Presented through multiple points of view, Small Mercies explores the conflicts and deep attachments that exist within families. Heart-wrenching and profoundly relatable, Joyce’s debut is a love letter to Staten Island and a deeply affecting portrait of an American family.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
EDDIE JOYCE was born and raised on Staten Island. A graduate of Harvard University and Georgetown Law Center, he practiced law in Manhattan for ten years. When his twin daughters were born in 2009, he left the legal profession to stay home and help raise them while pursuing his dream of being a writer. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three daughters.

PRAISE FOR SMALL MERCIES:
“An intimate family portrait.”—The New York Times

“Eddie Joyce’s terrific first novel is so American that the story might as well have taken place at the base of the Statue of Liberty.”—Richard Russo

“An inside look at one Staten Island family’s struggle with grief . . . [A] poignant, deeply affecting tale.” —Martha Stewart Living, a Book Club selection

“[A] terrific debut novel. . . . Joyce layers . . . different characters’ perspectives nimbly and skillfully, infusing his portrait of a messy, complicated, loving family with heartfelt emotion.”—Sara Vilkomerson, Entertainment Weekly, A-

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:
SMALL MERCIES by Eddie Joyce is an emotionally gripping tale about an Italian-Irish family who lives on Staten Island, New York, and how each member of this multigenerational family deals with the loss of one of their own following the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. SMALL MERCIES, however, is not a story centered on that awful event but rather the part it played in a family's life...their grief, reactions, and recovery in the years that followed.

The Amendola family is headed up by parents Gail and Michael, with Gail being the matriarch who has tried to keep her family together after the loss of their youngest son, Bobby. He was working on that horrific day as a NY firefighter, and died going into the towers to rescue people. Bobby left behind wife Tina and two young children. Gail has remained close to Tina but as time goes by, Tina has met a new man and wants to try and put her life back together again with him. She is afraid, however, of how the family will take this. She doesn't want to lose them. The upcoming family birthday party for Bobby, Jr. will be a true test, or a disaster!

Michael and Gail have two other sons, Peter and Franky. The eldest, Peter, is a successful lawyer who is the only one to leave Staten Island to live in Manhattan, with his wife Lindsay and their children. But Peter is now afraid of losing everything and everyone for a terrible mistake he has made. Readers also meet Franky, who uses alcohol to deal with the loss of the brother he so adored, and is continually an embarrassment to his family and himself. Always in trouble, nobody can be sure if Franky can make it to Bobby Jr.'s birthday party coming up, without causing a scene... especially when Tina wants the family to meet the new man in her life.

Author Eddie Joyce's use of flashbacks to clarify the narrative, as well as using the point of view from different characters to tell the story, all add to the page-turning Amendola family saga in SMALL MERCIES. I found the story interesting especially because Joyce is obviously knowledgeable of the area as he made Staten Island more than just the setting, but almost another character. Describing the people and their close knit community gave even more credence to the events and actions that took place. Easy to read as well as one that may stay with you for a while.
GIVEAWAY
 
  I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS WONDERFUL
BOOK, SMALL MERCIES TO 
GIVE AWAY TO ONE LUCKY WINNER!
  
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT
--ALL ENTRIES/COMMENTS MUST BE

SEPARATE IN ORDER TO COUNT 
AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY
HOW TO ENTER:
+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT SMALL MERCIES THAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING ON EDDIE JOYCE'S WEBSITE BY GOING HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU CAN COMMENT ON EACH ON SEPARATELY AND GAIN MORE ENTRIES THAT WAY 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY
GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
 6 PM, EST, APRIL 24
GOOD LUCK!

148 comments:

rubynreba said...

I really enjoyed your review. I can imagine that this is indeed a book that will stay with you for a long while. I would really enjoy reading it.
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Grandma Cootie said...

I enjoyed your review. Every once in a while a really good book that is "just" about families comes along and it sounds like this may be one of those books.
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Grandma Cootie said...

Eddie Joyce's website had links to some of his other writing which were helpful.
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Carol N Wong said...

I am very interested how this family handles their grief. I just finished reading a memoir of an Iranian family's grief and how they handled it. This is a tough subject to handle but reading stories like this can help others work through their own family grief.

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Carol N Wong said...

I tweeted: http://t.co/ToUtUtHYsa

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traveler said...

Impressive review. thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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Carol N Wong said...

I really enjoyed reading the Q & A with the author about this book. I agree with him that each family has its own mythology. I definitely want to read this book and anything else that he writes.

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traveler said...

The author was a lawyer. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Carol N Wong said...

I entered for A Wee Murder in My Shop.

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I entered for Borrowed Crime,

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I entered for Sticky Situation.

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I entered for Wedding Duress.

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I entered for Last One Home.

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I follow with an e-mail subscription.
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I follow with Facebook.
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Tina said...

This looks like my own Irish-Italian family. Must read it.

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Tina said...

I entered Wee Murder in my shop

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Tina said...

from his web page, I can see that his background makes Eddie Joyce very qualified to write about this subject.


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Tina said...

I entered Borrowed Crime


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lag123 said...

I enjoy reading about familial relationships.

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Linda Kish said...

This sounds like a really good story and a good start to his writing career. It sounds like he has portrayed the Italian-Irish families of that area pretty well. I'd love the chance to read this.

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I am an email subscriber

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I am a GFC follower

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I am a bloglovin' follower

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holdenj said...

Nice review, Karen, it looks like a good story. I noticed the Twin Towers on the cover and was wondering when it took place.
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holdenj said...

Eddie has a few short selections of fiction linked at his site.
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petite said...

A great review. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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The author has an interesting site. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

Margie said...

This sounds like a very touching family drama. Thanks for the giveaway.
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Margie said...

The author practiced law ten years before becoming a writer.
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Meredith said...

Terrific review! Recovering from a tragedy like that can be a long, hard road.


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