North River: A Novel
by Pete Hamill
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 466)
Read in July, 2008
Overall this was a good read with some minor annoyances.
A 40ish Irish doctor in the West Village in the Great Depression. His wife has gone missing for a year, their marriage was not blissful since WWI (some 18 years before), his daughter is flighty married to a Mexican revolutionary. The daughter dumps off her 3 year old son and journeys to Spain in search of her husband. The lonely doctor takes in the boy and hires a 30ish Italian woman to care for him. Of course they all bond and he...more
A 40ish Irish doctor in the West Village in the Great Depression. His wife has gone missing for a year, their marriage was not blissful since WWI (some 18 years before), his daughter is flighty married to a Mexican revolutionary. The daughter dumps off her 3 year old son and journeys to Spain in search of her husband. The lonely doctor takes in the boy and hires a 30ish Italian woman to care for him. Of course they all bond and he...more
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Read in February, 2008
I think Pete Hamill is one of the extraordinary storytellers of our time! I listened to this book and the reader, Henry Strozier, was excellent. I like how the author can take daily routines and daily objects and describe them in a way that makes them alive and interesting. I fell in love with the main character, Dr. Delaney, who has a heart of gold in his practice as a doctor during the Depression. In his personal life, he has a missing wife, Molly, and a daughter, Grace, who has abandoned ...more
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Read in August, 2008
James Delaney is a local New York City doctor during the Depression who takes care of his neighbors and his WWI veteran comrades, who also happen to be mobsters. Delaney's wife and daughter, both of whom never got over his voluntary enlisment in the war, both have disappeared, leaving him lonely, self-doubting, frozen (lots of too-obvious freezing/thawing imagery). One wintry day Delaney arrives home to find his grandson left on his doorstep. He hires an illegal immigrant, a younger Sicilian ...more
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Read in April, 2008
This book took FOREVER for the plot to get going - that is my biggest complaint. The story, of an aging war veteran (Dr. Delaney) struggling to manage his medical practice in NYC during the Depression era, is really all about love. Don't let the dangerous undercurrents of poverty, politics, and mobsters fool you. Hamill paints a nice picture of what the city looked, smelled, sounded, and felt like during this time in history. It was very drab and sad overall, but dedication, loyalty and love...more
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Read in October, 2007
I loved this book. Pete Hamill is a master of his craft. His stories evoke such a realistic feeling of bygone eras that you feel like you're there, but he always slips in a bit of magic, too, in letting you into the minds of his characters.
This book is set in the New York of 1934 in the depths of the Depression. Dr. Delaney tends his patients as best he can while wondering whether his vanished wife is alive or dead. He is shocked one day to find his 3-year-old grandson Carlito on his doorstep....more
This book is set in the New York of 1934 in the depths of the Depression. Dr. Delaney tends his patients as best he can while wondering whether his vanished wife is alive or dead. He is shocked one day to find his 3-year-old grandson Carlito on his doorstep....more
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Read in July, 2007
As a committed Pete Hamill fan, unfortunately I did not find this book, his latest, to be up to his usual standards. The plot centers around Delaney, a middle-aged Irish doctor who cares for the poor people in Greenwich Village in the 1930's, and meanwhile suffers stoically after his wife's unexplained disappearance. Then one day his daughter drops off her 3-year old son at his door with a note and the plot takes off from there. While Hamill effectively brings out the sights and sounds of 1930's...more
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Read in March, 2008
It is 1934, and New York City is in the grip of the Great Depression. Dr. James Delaney tends to his hurt, sick, and poor neighbors, who include gangsters, day laborers, prostitutes, and housewives. If they can't pay, he treats them anyway. Delaney is haunted by the slaughters of the Great War. His only daughter has left and his wife vanished months before, leaving him to wonder if she is alive or dead. on New Year's Day, the doctor returns home to find his three-year-old grandson on his d...more
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Read in March, 2008
Delaney is a neighborhood doctor during the depression, struggling to make ends meet in a time when people have no money to pay the doctor. One spring morning he arrives home to find his estranged daughter has left his three-year-old grandson on his doorstep while she runs off to try and find the boy's father. Coping with the arrival of his grandson changes his life.
I've liked every book I've read by Pete Hamill and this was no exception. Delaney was a terribly sympathetic and likable mai...more
I've liked every book I've read by Pete Hamill and this was no exception. Delaney was a terribly sympathetic and likable mai...more
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Read in January, 2007
pretty darn sentimental: so this is irish doctor in living in depression era nyc--on grand street or somewhere on the les. his wife has either left him, or died--he and you are unclear. His daughter has run off to mexico to marry a revolutionary, and the good doctor is home alone treating good mobsters. then his daughter (once it appears that her husband has either left her or died) leaves her three year old son on the the doctor's front step. in a blizzard.
of course, the the grandson bring...more
of course, the the grandson bring...more
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Read in April, 2008
It's hard to top Forever and the scope at eternal New York, but this is a throughly enjoyable read about classic early 20th century NYC all the same. An Irish doctor ends up in caring for his grandson when his daughter skips the country in search of her revolutionary husband. The doctor helps everyone, even crime bosses of waring factions and trys to do good for everyone he can help. He takes in a woman who cares for the boy and the various stories start to weave. Very readable and engaging....more
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Read in March, 2008
It's the 1930s, and a doctor in NYC is struggling through life having lost his wife (through disappearance) and daughter (who ran away to marry a Mexican revolutionary). His sad routines are suddenly disrupted by two events: the treatment of a notorious mobster, and the unceremonious dumping of his toddler grandson on his doorstep. And with this, the book is off to an intriguing start.
I really enjoyed this book; I am a sucker for stories about characters who create (or recreate) family v...more
I really enjoyed this book; I am a sucker for stories about characters who create (or recreate) family v...more
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Read in March, 2008
I really enjoyed "Forever" by Hamill, and was prepared to love this one too. I did like it, a lot. But...
This was a bit more of a redemption/romance then I was prepared for. The character of Delaney was convincing and I would have been willing to follow him though a more interesting plot, but this book left me with a rather(to my mind) shallow plot-line that was predictable and unsatisfying. That said, the details of 1930's New York were VERY satisfying and I very much enjoyed ...more
This was a bit more of a redemption/romance then I was prepared for. The character of Delaney was convincing and I would have been willing to follow him though a more interesting plot, but this book left me with a rather(to my mind) shallow plot-line that was predictable and unsatisfying. That said, the details of 1930's New York were VERY satisfying and I very much enjoyed ...more
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Read in August, 2007
I enjoyed this book. It's not as good as "Forever", another of Hammill's books, but it is written in a similar style and does well at making the reader feel as if they are in New York in the 30s. The characters are rich and Hammill does a good job at moving the plot along at a quick pace. I lost track of the time in the book periodically and had trouble really understanding why Delaney was in this predicament. The true richness of this book, however, are the characters themselves. Hamm...more
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Read in July, 2008
3.5 stars. Nice love story.
My first Pete Hamill novel and I'm sure I'll take the opportunity to read another. Although I enjoyed the novel, I had a little bit of a hard time getting into the story even though I liked the characters. I can't really pin down why. The writing was straightforward (not flowery), easy to read, and the story was attractive but it sometimes fell a little flat for me. Having said that, I need to say that Hamill did an incredible job of painting a backdrop of NY ...more
My first Pete Hamill novel and I'm sure I'll take the opportunity to read another. Although I enjoyed the novel, I had a little bit of a hard time getting into the story even though I liked the characters. I can't really pin down why. The writing was straightforward (not flowery), easy to read, and the story was attractive but it sometimes fell a little flat for me. Having said that, I need to say that Hamill did an incredible job of painting a backdrop of NY ...more
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Read in June, 2008
While not the Nemirovsky replacment I had been hoping for, this turned out to be a great new author whose other works I now look forward to reading.
This is the story of a brief time period in the life of a New York doctor during the depression era. The author gives the reader a good idea of what it may have been like in Manhattan at the time, as well as is quite adept at building characters. If it is only a good read you are in the mood for, I would for sure say pick this one up. It's an easy...more
This is the story of a brief time period in the life of a New York doctor during the depression era. The author gives the reader a good idea of what it may have been like in Manhattan at the time, as well as is quite adept at building characters. If it is only a good read you are in the mood for, I would for sure say pick this one up. It's an easy...more
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Read in September, 2008
This novel had an interesting story. It is not often you get a story about a grandfather or about New York during the depression. The characters were interesting and so was the setting. My biggest problem is the language, which isn't really necessary, not to mention that I think even in New York in the 1930's did people probably didn't use the 'F' word as often as these characters do (granted some of them are mobsters). Anyhow, the story was interesting overall, but I can't think of many people ...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Jessica by:
the libraryrecommends it for: thos interested in the Depression, New York City, love stories
This is a lovely book, a quiet, well-written book. It is the story of a neighborhood doctor living in NYC during the Depression, and how his life is changed when his spoiled daughter drops his 3 year old grandson off in his vestibule one winter day. It discusses the life of NYC at this time--the Irish and Italian immigration issues, the Mob, the corrupt politicians.... A great read for anyone who wants a quiet, sweet sort of read that takes place in a great place and time.
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Read in July, 2008
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Nikki by:
Lisa
My first Pete Hamill book. He is a really vibrant story-teller. He recreated the depression-era New York really well, so I felt like I was living it! His characters rang very true as well. There were no perfect people in this book, although Delaney comes pretty close to being too good to be true.
It's just a really nice work of contemporary period-piece fiction. Most people will enjoy it, there is not much objectionable here!
It's just a really nice work of contemporary period-piece fiction. Most people will enjoy it, there is not much objectionable here!
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
new yorkers
I love Pete Hamill's writing and the way he can take a historical location (NY in the 1930s/1940s) and make it come alive. The only other book by Hamill that I have read was his non-fiction My Manhattan, which I loved! In North River, a fictional tale of a doctor who tries to help others before helping himself, Hamill takes his knowledge and love of New York history and weaves a highly intriguing tale of love, loss, and more love.
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