Golden Years (O'Malley Novels (Forge Paperback))
by Andrew M. Greeley
List Price:
Our Price: $0.01
You Save: $6.98 (100%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Andrew M. GreeleyEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-11-01
ISBN: 0765342391
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Forge Books
Book Reviews of Golden Years (O'Malley Novels (Forge Paperback))
Book Review: A tedious tale packed with filler
Summary: 2 Stars
Andrew Greeley used to be known for page-turning excitement, vivid characters and an unusual sense of humor. As his literary output has grown to well over 100 books, his writing has grown lazy and out of touch. Golden Years is no exception.
Golden Years is the story of how Chucky and Rosemarie O'Malley and their extended family (the "Crazy O'Malleys) cope with the death of Chucky's parents. On the positive side, the story illustrates how believing Catholics can find hope for life in the death of a loved one. The scene where the Crazy O'Malleys perform "When the Saints Go Marching In" at the graveside of Chucky's father is one of the few inspired moments in the book. The sibling rivalry between oldest sister Jane and the rest of the family also rings pretty true. However, to get to these nuggets, the reader must wade through pages of filler. This is also the story of Chucky O'Malley falling in love with his wife again. We know this because the author and the characters tell us this--on nearly every page. Marital love expressed in playful foreplay and passionate coupling can be life affirming, but gets dull after the 10th or 20th scene. In this story, the obligatory mystery is mentioned almost in passing and gets solved without breaking a sweat.
Greeley's characters also grow more unbelievable and out of touch. This book is supposedly about the "Golden Years" of Chucky and Rosemary O'Malley. The characters are 53 and 49 respectively. In most people's lives, this is late middle age, a point where parents have to work extra hard to pay for kids in college, marriages, mortgages and saving for retirement. On Planet Greeley, it is a time of second adolescence where all of their financial needs are taken care of without the necessity of working and they can devote most of their attention to each other. The O'Malleys live in a beautiful house with an indoor swimming pool which apparently does not have a mortgage payment. Their five year old child is raised by a live-in nannny (who falls in love with their son). Their older childrens' college education apparently pays for itself. If they need to solve a mystery, they can just charter a Gulfstream jet.
To make all of this more infuriating, these idle rich characters go on at length about what great Irish Catholic Democrats they are. Ronald Reagan, Republicans and anyone in a position of authority are treated as crude, uneducated and lacking the O'Malleys' sophistication. In the real world, it was just this type of elitist thinking which caused many ethnic Catholics to bolt the Democratic party in the 1980s.
I continue to buy Father Greeley's books in the hope of finding something thought-provoking, inciteful or at least entertaining. However, with each new disappointment, it is becoming more difficult.
Family Saga Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Family Saga Books
Elephant Manby Christine Sparks
Ballantine Books; Published: 1986-11-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.02
Price in other shops:
Assegaiby Wilbur Smith
Thomas Dunne Books; Published: 2009-05-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops:
Birds of Preyby Wilbur Smith
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2003-05-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $48.99
An Act of Loveby Nancy Thayer
St Martins Pr; Published: 1997-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.85
Price in other shops:
Honoluluby Alan Brennert
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2009-03-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.52
Price in other shops:
Family Treeby Barbara Delinsky
Anchor; Published: 2009-10-27; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops:
Those Who Save Usby Jenna Blum
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Published: 2005-05-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops:
Vinegar Hillby A. Manette Ansay
Penguin USA (P); Published: 2000-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.99
Billy Phelan's Greatest Gameby William Kennedy
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1983-01-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.64
Price in other shops:
Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)by Neal Stephenson
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2004-09-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Irish Linen: A Nuala Anne McGrail Novel (Nuala Anne McGrail Novels)by Andrew M. Greeley
Forge Books; Published: 2008-02-05; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.25
Price in other shops:
The Bishop Goes to the University: A Bishop Blackie Ryan Novel (Blackie Ryan Novels)by Andrew M. Greeley
Forge Books; Published: 2004-12-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.25
Price in other shops:
The Bishop in the Old Neighborhood: A Bishop Blackie Ryan Storeyby Andrew M. Greeley
Forge Books; Published: 2006-11-28; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.74
Price in other shops:
The Senator and the Priestby Andrew M. Greeley
Forge Books; Published: 2007-10-02; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.22
Price in other shops:
Younger Than Springtime (O'Malley Novels (Forge Paperback))by Andrew M. Greeley
Forge Books; Published: 2000-09-15; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.32
Price in other shops:
September Song: A Cronicle of the O'Malley's in the Twentieth Centuryby Andrew M. Greeley
Forge Books; Published: 2002-09-16; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.94
Price in other shops:
A Midwinter's Tale (O'Malley Novels)by Andrew M. Greeley
Forge Books; Published: 1999-11-15; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.54
Price in other shops:
A Christmas Wedding (O'Malley Novels (Forge Paperback))by Andrew M. Greeley
Forge Books; Published: 2001-11-19; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.25
Price in other shops:
Second Spring: A Love Story, The Fifth Chronicle of the O'Malley Family in the Twentieth Centuryby Andrew M. Greeley
Forge Books; Published: 2004-05-16; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.08
Price in other shops:
The Archbishop in Andalusia: An Archbishop Blackie Ryan Novel (Blackie Ryan Novels)by Andrew M. Greeley
Forge Books; Published: 2009-09-29; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops: