Ironweed

By: William Kennedy

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Ironweed is the best-known of William Kennedy's three Albany-based novels. Francis Phelan, ex-ballplayer, part-time gravedigger, full-time drunk, has hit bottom. Years ago he left Albany in a hurry after killing a scab during a trolley workers' strike; he ran away again after accidentally – and fatally – dropping his infant son. Now, in 1938, Francis is back in town, roaming the old familiar streets with his hobo pal, Helen, trying to make peace with the ghosts of the past and the present.

As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of William Kennedy's book, you'll also receive an exclusive Jim Atlas interview. This interview – where James Atlas interviews Russell Banks about the life and work of William Kennedy – begins as soon as the audiobook ends.

Listen to more Audible Modern Vanguard titles.©1984 William Kennedy (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A kind of fantasia on the strangeness of human destiny, on the mysterious ways in which a life can be transformed and sometimes redeemed...a work of unusual interest, original in its conception, full of energy and color, a splendid addition to the Albany cycle." ( The New York Times Book Review)

“Narrator Jonathan Davis guides listeners through the surreal world of life on the streets in the late Depression, where Phelan talks as easily to the dead as he does to his companions. Taking an objective tack, Davis is respectful of the hobos, maintaining their own odd mix of self-worth and self-loathing. As Phelan loosens the emotional knots of his past, Davis steps back just enough to let listeners be haunted by the words.” ( Audiofile)

"A powerfully affecting work, abounding in humor and heartbreak." ( Chicago Tribune Bookworld)

Great a wonder of story telling in the 1930's

The language in the book is dense filled with reality and beautiful images. Listening it keeps your attention and you are swept away into the harsh almost crushing America of buns, hobos and drifters. Everyone has a back story and they all come together to support the main character, it is a very dark and almost depressing listen.
The narrator is perfect, he pushes the story with transparent delivery, never shading the prose, but letting the words fill the performance.
I highly recommend this book.

What a sad, sorrowful story

Some time ago, a man in our area took his little boy deer hunting on a cold winter morning. The boy must have been about 4 years old. He had fallen asleep and was secured into his car seat when the dad left for a while to go deer spotting. When he got back, the boy was gone. He was found sometime later, not too far from the truck, frozen to death. I can only imagine the grief this poor man must have experienced. On top of that, he was charged with negligent homicide. On the morning of his arraignment, the man told his friends he would be back in time for it, but he just wanted to go up to the spot where his baby had died. When he got there, he took his own life. I do not judge this man for what he did. Fact is, I would probably have done the same thing if it had happened to me. How could you resume your life as a responsible, contributing adult after something like that?

That is the feeling tone of ???Ironweed.??? It is a dark, dirty, sordid and sad story. Francis Phelan was on a long journey away from the circumstances of his existence, but eventually found himself trying to go home. I learned so much from this book on so many levels. We worry about so many stupid things, but Fran and his compatriots only worried about two: 1) Where will I sleep tonight? And 2) Where and when will I find something to eat? Those are pretty basic levels on Maslow???s hierarchy of needs. Still, Fran shows some hope for a more normal life in the face of acceptance and love from the family he abandoned 22 years earlier. I do not recommend this book to just anyone. It is beautifully written, but deals with a dark and somber story among the seedier members of society. Not much about it is light hearted or happy. It is a long ride through much pain and sorrow before even a glimmer of hope is found. Nevertheless, the book ends with us having reason to hope that Francis at last finds a modicum of peace and love within the shelter of his family???s love. This story is bound to be on my mind for a long time.

The narrator is very good, but has an annoying way of saying '"Francis said . . ." or whoever. I guess I eventually got used to it, but would hesitate to get another book narrated by him for that reason. Otherwise, he was very good.

A Depressing Heartwarming Story

This was a great character story about the protagonist, Francis Phelan, his friend, Rudy, his long time significant other, Helen, and his life of pain, alcoholism, terrible coincidences, and frustrated dreams.

I liked how the ghosts/characters of his past kept appearing and watching him. I liked Francis, felt sorry for him, and cheered for him.

The author, William Kennedy's writing style is excellent. The narrator, Jonathan Davis, was perfect.

Beautiful!

Will listen to the other books in the trilogy.

Splendid grim tale

Great story that takes place in early 20th century, about an alcoholic that comes back to his hometown he left so long ago. A reunion with ghosts, memories and family. The characters and town really come alive, William Kennedy is an awesome story teller.

I personally love the narrator, one of the reasons I chose to get this book. The other reason was that this book was on critics' lists, and for good reason. You're safe spending your credit on this one.

Quite the surprise

As I began reading this I was at some level aware of the story. I had never watched the movie, but I was aware when the movie came out and I must have seen a trailer or read something about the story at that time. And I had read some GR reviews that described enough of the tone of the novel to confirm my other impressions. I wasn't expecting to love this story. I was thinking it would be dark and depressing. Well, that preliminary impression was not far off, but it didn't matter. I thought the writing was wonderful, and the characters were crisp and vivid. Yes, there was a lot of violence, and there was frustration for me because the characters didn't have to be in the position they found themselves. But that was an integral part of the story. It wasn't all bad luck. There were choices made, and recognition by the characters of those choices. They knew themselves such that their lives were inevitable. That inevitability made the thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing nature of the story that much more impressive. #Violent #Addiction #Surprising #NewYorkState #Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

Darkly Lovely

This writing is almost magical. The novel follows a bum in Albany NY during the great depression and his interaction with other destitute homeless, the desperately poor, and his estranged family as he faces deadly cold, wild dogs, his own deeds, his memories, and his mortality. One might expect the subject matter to be dark, and maybe even depressing but, as I said, this writing is almost magical. The author immerses the reader in a strange glow of friends and family and love and home that changes the hue of the hunger, scars, and fears into something truly lovely.

The narration was excellent subtly expressing the conflicting emotions of the character very well, adding pleasure to the listening.

The was my first William Kennedy novel and I will add the others in the Albany Series to my queue.

I waited 36 years to read this one

I'm so glad I finally delved into this book. It was the right time for me. I could read it again just to savoury the good parts. The narrator was the best! It was a real reading, not overly acted, yet the characters' voices remained distinct. I want to thank him. William Kenedy has my deepest gratitude for his creative work. Thank God books don't go away so fast.

Hauntings and musings at the bottom of a bottle

Hauntings and musings at the bottom of a bottle

#ironweed, the film adaptation of.the novel by #williamkennedy starting Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, was one of those movies that I thought I had watched one late night on 90's HBO but honestly could remember nothing about. Landing at #92 on the #modernlibrarytop100novelsany novels in the bottom quarter of the list have received mixed reviews by me. This is a pleasant exception. Being the third of eight Kennedy novels that make up #The Albany Cycle", so dubbed as the author madly loved the upstate New York City, this novel is based on 1938 and focuses on former Big League Baseball player #francisphelan who has spent the last twenty-odd years on the bum and deep in the bottle following the accidental death of his infant son. Having wandered the highway and byways for the last nine years with fellow alcoholic Helen, she, like so many within his intimate circle of rummies and bums suffer from untreated illnesses and the ravages of living in the open with no money, little to eat and every dime more likely invested in the next bottle.

Written in 1982, Ironweed won the #1984 #pulitzerprizeforfiction , and it is well deserved. As a fan of Steinbeck, Faulker and Hemingway, their influence in his style is obvious, beautiful and compelling. I will be diving more into The Albany Cycle in the future. And maybe I will try watching the film again.
#pulitzerprizereadingchallenge #readtheworldchallenge #globalreadingchallenge #americanliterature

pulitzer prize winner for a reason

This is a great study of the psychology underpinning homelessness and addiction. The move with Jack Nicholson and Merryl Streep was good, but don't miss the book - very good.