A Drinking Life: A Memoir
by Pete Hamill
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Book Summary Information
Author: Pete HamillEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1995-04-01
ISBN: 0316341029
Number of pages: 265
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Book Reviews of A Drinking Life: A Memoir
Book Review: "One thing was certain: in the Neighborhood,the bad guys never went to the Library."
Summary: 5 Stars
What a sroryteller and what a story to tell.I can't believe it took me so long to "find" this wonderful writer.I had never read anything by him or even heard of him.I do recall, seeing the name on books in the bookstore;but since I tend to read mostly non-fiction,I guess I've just been passing him by. This book has been on my bookshelf for some time,so I decided to pick it up and see what it was like;not really expecting much. I hadn't even recognized him as an Irish-American writer. I have read all the books by Frank and Malachy McCourt,Roddy Doyle,Brendan O'Carroll,Brendan Behan and numerous other Irish and Irish-American writers; and enjoy them immensely.
I found this book a real gem for many reasons.The author was born the same year as I was. Even though he grew up in Brooklyn in the 40's and 50's and I grew up in a small town of about 5,000 in Nova Scotia ,life was very similar.All the things he talked about were familiar to me. Warships in the harbor,Servicemen everywhere,Rationing and shortages (I never saw a banana till I was 10 years old),Air Raid Wardens,etc. I sympathized when he told of giving his skates for the war effort.I can remember Aluminium drives at the school,where there was an effigy of Hitler hanging from a pole and the kids were to bring aluminium stuff to throw at it. Was my mother ever mad when she found out what happened to some of her pots and pans. Peter brought back the many memories of the comics,Comic Books,Big Little Books and all the heroes .I followed all the same ones too. And then the movie theatres,especially on Saturdays. The one big difference was that there were no bars in my town,The arena and the Pool Room was where the young guys "came of age",,or could get anything they were not supposed to have. My town had an Army base nearby.When soldiers were off duty they had to get beer or wine from the Bootlegger (no Bars ,and Liquor Stores closed at 5 p.m.).There was a big orchard back of my house,and that was where they did their drinking. Since the bootlegger did not deal in returns,the empties were given to us kids and kept us in spending money.I still remember going to the junk dealer with my wagon piled high with bottles ;2 cents for quarts and 1 cent for pints.Man,we thought we were rich! So much for being a kid during the war!
Then Peter takes us along with him as his interests develop,how he wanted to be a catoonist,writer etc.He tells us about all his exploits in finding his way through life and impact that drinking had on him. In the end,he finally quits drinking; but if you expect this book to deal with great problems in drinking,extreme difficulties in quitting etc.,you're going to be disappointed. Quite to the contrary,drinking was a real part of his daily existance and the solution to many of his hard times and also very much part of his good times.
Virtually everything and everyone mentioned will be familiar to anyone who was born in and grew up at the same time.
As with other Irish writers ,their use of language is wonderful. It is filled with expressions and great lines.Here are a few;
"Never marry a woman you can't knock out with one punch."
"an Artist must pay a price in loneliness."
"most people go through their lives without ever doing one whole thing
they really want to do."
"No matter how fine a school you are in,you have to educate yourself."
"You could be there for life. That's what I'm afraid of."
"All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you:the good and the bad,the estacy,the remorse and sorrow,the people and the places and how the weather was." (this is one of those kind of books)
Now that I've read this book and ejoyed it so much;I'll be reading more of his books.Just remember;
YOU ARE THE SAME TODAY,
THAT YOU WILL BE FIVE YEARS FROM NOW,
EXCEPT FOR TWO THINGS;
THE PEOPLE YOU MEET,
AND
THE BOOKS YOU READ.
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