In this nostalgic, richly textured autobiographical novel about growing up on a poor Irish block in Albany, N.Y., prolific author Trevanian (Shibumi; Hot Night in the City; etc.) recalls his childhood during the Great Depression through World War II. In 1936, six-year-old narrator Jean-Luc La Pointe, his mother and younger sister leave Lake George Village for a gritty tenement in Albany to reunite with their deadbeat father and husband. He never shows up, and the penniless family makes do on their own: Luke's mother finds work as a waitress, and he fetches day-old bread on credit from the Socialist Jewish grocer across the street while steering clear of the Meehans from down the block, "a wild, drunken, dim-witted tribe... related in complex and unnatural ways." Affectionate portraits of the titular eccentric women punctuate Trevanian's sprawling tale: Luke observes the beleaguered and self-destructive Mrs. Meehan and meets the reclusive Mrs. McGivney, who perpetually relives a happier past while caring for a catatonic husband. Luke's "defiantly independent" mother, another "crazylady," marries the decent upstairs neighbor, but continues to idealize her con-man first husband. Though Trevanian's reminiscences make for a more atmospheric than carefully wrought novel, he sweetly evokes an innocent if hardscrabble lost age. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --Ce texte provient de la Hardcover �dition.

From Booklist

In 1936, in the Depression-era U.S., six-year-old Jean-Luc LaPointe; his three-year-old sister, Anne-Marie; and his mother, Ruby, are given a nugget of hope. The father and husband who abandoned them twice over has written claiming that after a stint in the slammer he's straightened out his life and wants them to come live with him. So Ruby packs up her children and heads to Albany, New York, to the shoddy, rundown apartment that's waiting for them on Pearl Street. Jean-Luc's father, however, is nowhere to be found, and Ruby is forced to go on welfare to support herself and her children. At school, Jean-Luc comes under the tutelage of a kindly teacher, who nurtures his potential and encourages him. It isn't long before the growing threat in Germany and the approach of World War II cast a shadow on Pearl Street, especially when Ben, the man with whom Ruby has found love, enlists in the army after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Trevanian's gift is his eye for detail; readers looking to get a feel for the period will find much to enjoy here. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --Ce texte provient de la Hardcover �dition.

Voir toutes les Descriptions du produit

Associer des mots-cl�s � ce produit

(De quoi s'agit-il ?)

Consid�rez votre mot-cl� comme une sorte d'�tiquette d�finissant parfaitement ce produit.
Les mots-cl�s aident les clients � organiser et trouver leurs articles favoris.

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	55% buy the item featured on this page: The Crazyladies of Pearl Street 4.5�toiles sur 5 (2)
	37% buy The Loo Sanction: A Novel 4.0�toiles sur 5 (1) CDN$ 15.33
	4% buy The Main: A Novel 4.5�toiles sur 5 (6) CDN$ 15.33
	4% buy The Eiger Sanction: A Novel 3.8�toiles sur 5 (4) CDN$ 15.33

D�couvrez des articles similaires

L'avis des consommateurs

2 �valuations

5 �toiles:		(1)
4 �toiles:		(1)
3 �toiles:		(0)
2 �toiles:		(0)
1 �toiles:		(0)

�valuation du client type

4.5�toiles sur 5 (2 �valuations de client)

Partagez votre opinion avec les autres clients:

Cr�er votre propre commentaire

Commentaires client les plus utiles

5.0�toiles sur 5 The Challenges of Breaking Out, Mars 30 2008

Par	Ian Gordon Malcomson (Smithers, Canada) - Voir tous mes commentaires (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Crazyladies of Pearl Street: A Novel (Paperback)

Trevanian (author of Shibumi) tells a very charming and fast-pace novel about a young boy growing up in the Irish slums of the Bronx during the 1930s and 40s. While Jean-Luc's tale is not unusual in terms of describing the basics challenges facing an immigrant family such as poverty, injustice, inhumanity, and discrimination, it does offer something very special for the reader to consider: a way by which to extricate oneself from the depths of such an existence: a creative imagination. Throughout the story, we see Jean-Luc valiantly attempting to help his abandoned sick mother and young sister every which way to leave the demoralizing climes of Pearl Street as it attempts to bring people down to the lowest level possible. He and the other Lapointes live close to an environment that perpetually smells of boil cabbage, urine, vermin and unwashed bodies. The Pearl Street community of fatherless families becomes the metaphor in the story for either the way to maddening despair or the reasons to have inspiring dreams. Jean-Luc, by assuming the role is no-good father deserted, becomes the dreamer by which his immediate family can climb out of this human sewer of broken lives. The story is full of how these dreams and visions of a better life work out in Jean-Luc's fitful existence. He is forever fighting the label of poverty in his efforts to get people to take his aspirations seriously. Every adult in his life, within the purview of Pearl Street, either fires his imagination to become somebody important or steels his resolve not to be dragged down further. In the end, we find a Jean-Luc who has moved out of Pearl Street to big-wide world beyond, forever looking for his fortune in the lives of others, and only finally finding it when he accepts who he is. He is not his drunken, irresponsible father, whom he meets for one last time at the end of the story. Neither is he shaped like his mother - a typical helpless welfare recipient-who can never be responsible for herself because she is constantly blaming others for her misfortunes and mistakes.

Ce commentaire vous a-t-il été utile ? Oui Non (Signaler ce commentaire)

4.0�toiles sur 5 Nostalgic Coming of Age Story, D�c 26 2007

Par	Teddy (Richmond, BC) - Voir tous mes commentaires (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

The novel opens with the young Jean-Luc, his mother and sister moving into a slum on Pearl Street in Albany. His father sent word to Jean-Luc's mother to meet him there but as usual, he doesn't show up. Once again the mother and her two small children have to fend for themselves.

This richly textured coming of age story, through the depression reads more like a memoir than fiction. I listened to the audio version and Tom Bosely did an excellent job narrating. I listened to this book while working out at the gym. I could hardly wait for each workout to listen to more.

I was truly sorry that this delightful book had to end. I have never read a book by Trevanian before, but I plan to read more now.

Ce commentaire vous a-t-il été utile ? Oui Non (Signaler ce commentaire)

Partagez votre opinion avec les autres clients: Cr�er votre propre commentaire

› Lire les 2 commentaires des internautes

Listmania!

Really, Really Fun Reads: Une liste par Di

Cr�er une liste th�matique Listmania!

Cherchez des articles semblables par cat�gorie

Books > Audiobooks > Audio CDs > General
Books > Audiobooks > Audio CDs > Literature & Fiction > General
Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

Chercher des articles semblables par sujet

Commentaires

Souhaitez-vous compl�ter ou am�liorer les informations sur ce produit ? Ou faire modifier les images?

Votre historique r�cent

(En savoir plus)

Apr�s avoir visualis� des pages d�taill�es produit ou des r�sultats de recherche, regardez ici pour trouver une fa�on simple de poursuivre votre navigation sur des pages qui vous int�ressent.

› Visitez la Page Que Vous Avez Faite

Apprenez de Nous

Gagnez de l'argent

Permettez-nous de Vous Aider

Conditions g�n�rales de vente | D�claration de confidentialit� � 2008-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. ou ses soci�t�s affili�es.