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Easter Rising: An Irish American Coming Up from Unde
by
Michael Patrick MacDonald (Goodreads Author)
Michael Patrick MacDonald’s memoir All Souls told the story of the loss of four of his siblings to the violence, poverty, and gangsterism of Irish South Boston. In his numerous speaking engagements ever since, MacDonald is frequently asked, “How did you get out?” Easter Rising is the searing answer to that question. Desperate to escape the “normal” route of violence and dr...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
March 3rd 2008
by Mariner Books
(first published September 27th 2006)
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I loved this author's first memoir "All Souls" about growing up amidst the poverty and violence in the tight-knit, xenophobic Irish-Catholic community of South Boston in the 1970s/80s, how that poverty and violence claimed the lives of four of his brothers and disabled one of his sisters. In Easter Rising, he focuses on his own story, how he was transported away from the projects through his love of punk music and how he reconciled himself to his heritage through visits to Ireland. Aga...more
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This book was nowhere near as good as MacDonald's previous book, All Souls. Although Easter Rising was an interesting tour through the underground punk and indie scene permeating Boston throughout the late 70s and early 80s, I have to say (and this is going to sound horrible), there was an element of authenticity missing that MacDonald captured so beautifully in his first book. This is not to say that I don't believe MacDonald encountered many of the scenes he describes in Easter Rising. I'm ...more
I almost never read memoirs, they just aren't that interesting to me. But for some reason this one caught my eye and I decided to give it twenty pages or so. Those twenty pages didn't grip me, but they were enough to make me give it another twenty pages, and on in that vein until I was halfway through the book. MacDonald's previous book (All Souls) was apparently all about the hard life growing up in Boston's Irish-Catholic "Southie" neighborhood (as seen in movies such as The Departed...more
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Awesome memoir about growing up in in an Irish Catholic family in the projects of Southie, though unlike his other book which I haven't yet read, this one is about the rebellion and how he strives to get away from his family and neighborhood. I was particular drawn into the era where he found punk and started hanging out at record shops and sneaking into clubs in Boston in he 80s, and then about the same when he started going to NYC. While he tells of a generation well before me, I still could...more
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Still an enjoyable, interesting read, though not quite as captivating as Macdonald's other book, All Souls A Family Story from Southie. While All Souls A Family Story from Southie focuses on Macdonald's family, Easter Rising examines the author himself: how he viewed Southie growing up, his attempts to distance himself from it and frustrations with the perverted "greatest place on Earth" attitude that was pervasive in his neighborhood, his discouragement with the punk scene he turned...more
I have a warm place for anything Michael writes. I lived in South Boston for the first part of my life so I connect with all his books.
Easter Rising is his second book, that isn't 100% connected to his first but you might be pretty lost on a lot of the names and places in easter rising if you don't read All Souls A Family Story from Southie. Easter Rising is about Michael growing up and Southie and finding his way out of the projects through punk rock and a trip to Ireland. He arous...more
Easter Rising is his second book, that isn't 100% connected to his first but you might be pretty lost on a lot of the names and places in easter rising if you don't read All Souls A Family Story from Southie. Easter Rising is about Michael growing up and Southie and finding his way out of the projects through punk rock and a trip to Ireland. He arous...more
It's rare that you have the opportunity to read a book that takes a few blocks away from where you live (granted during much different times). I read All Souls when I first moved to Southie three years ago - after receiving numerous recommendations - and recently my book club led me to Easter Rising. I was instantly drawn in again to MacDonald's stifling project world by his unique voice. He is a phenomenal storyteller. Here he lends his passion and intensity to tales of his teenage angst, which...more
I was surprised by how much I liked his second memoir considering I had heard that it paled in comparison to his first--and one of my favorite--memoirs, All Soul's. It has been a while since I read All Soul's, and I intend to read it now again, but in my memory it described rather than explained the ethnocentric mindset of South Boston. Easter Rising focuses on explaining that self-deprecating mentality, using the story of MacDonald's own growth--through art, culture, and, most importantly, pu...more
Well, written. Makes me think differtly when I see a kid who is screaming to be different. I'll try to be a little more understanding.
I read this immediately after reading MacDonalds first novel, All Souls. Although I did not have the same attchement to these characters it was interesteing to follow MacDonalds trajectory into the punk rock scene of the early 80's and how it managed to actually save him from a life of crime. He has a terrific ability to recall explict detail of the day and he transports you there with his descriptive vision. From Boston to NY to Ireland and back...MacaDonald reminds us no matter where we go t...more
It's a funny thing when you go to a book signing, and the author says "you look familiar". You say, well, I went to the Rat alot and I did some modeling...and he says, "Oh my God, I totally remember you"!!!! I loved this book. How often do you get to read a book about your scene, the places you went, the shows you were at and your friends that were there with you? Easter Rising totally did it for me. If you've read All Souls, and you should...If you want to know how Michael p...more
Easter Rising is a follow-up to Michael McDonald's All Souls, his story of growing up in Southie amidst his Irish-American family during the era of busing in Boston. All Souls blew my mind, and so I admit I had very, very high expectations for Easter Rising.
I was somewhat disappointed by the first part of the book, which mostly focused on McDonald's entry into the world of punk as an escape from his life in Southie. Though interesting, it didn't pack nearly the punch of All Souls, thou...more
I was somewhat disappointed by the first part of the book, which mostly focused on McDonald's entry into the world of punk as an escape from his life in Southie. Though interesting, it didn't pack nearly the punch of All Souls, thou...more
The book is testament to what humans can endure emotionally and turn into good. Michael Patrick MacDonald lost numerous siblings in childhood and punk music helped him start to break out of South Boston's projects' mold of drugs and crime.
There's a punk education along with street smarts. You do have to wonder if an underground is even possible anymore. His new found adventurous attitude led him to Europe and then at his grandfather's insistence to Ireland for the first time.
...more
There's a punk education along with street smarts. You do have to wonder if an underground is even possible anymore. His new found adventurous attitude led him to Europe and then at his grandfather's insistence to Ireland for the first time.
...more
I saw one of my best friends reading this book and she told me that this is author shows vivid detial about his life. So i bought it and never read it until one day i gave a wing at it while reading the book i got a sense of how death seems to follow his family he lost four siblings and finding out where he acutally came from. This was a hearbreaking moment when he first found out his older borther commited sucide and how he tried to run away from it. This book is really funny and heartbreaki...more
This is a more personal memoir than his earlier book, "All Souls", but rings as true and real. Redemption through Punk Rock is a pretty strange concept but redemption thru the realization that there is more "out there" for discovery than the narrow, painful and strictly dictated constraints of your upbringing is a perennial topic. Michael Patrick MacDonald is a very real and contemporary voice that I hope to hear from in the future. His insights to urban culture, good and ...more
I read the first book All Souls. It was interesting to me especially because I was familiar with some of the players and landscape. It gave me new insight into the pain and suffering brought on by clever criminals in the poor mostly Irish community. MacDonalds Easter Rising was almost a life memoir. I thought it went into a little too much detail about punk rock bands and it was at times all over the place but overall it was interesting and I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed learning some of the life...more
I have been fortunate enough to take a semester-long course with the author, Michael Patrick MacDonald. He is such a remarkable person, and his class was by far my favorite of Fall 2010. This is different than All Souls, and it focuses more on him growing up as influenced by punk rock music. His descriptions of Ireland also cemented it in my mind that I would visit the country when I visited Europe (mission accomplished April, 29, 2011). Quick read, definitely worth it.
This book made me smile really big... And then of course cry some too. After reading All Soul's, which I could not put down, I just had to read this one too, which had been in my shelf since I got it at one of Michael Patrick MacDonald's readings a couple of years ago. I definitely recommend it, especially to Irish Americans who grew up in Boston, but then again I'm neither of those things, and I really enjoyed this book. You should read both; it's definitely worth it.
This memoir grabs you by the throat from the start. In the opening chapter, the author’s brother attempts suicide by jumping off the roof of the family’s housing project. Unfortunately, he survives for a bit … at least long enough to leap to his feet and fight off the EMT’s and his own brother. The book moves along smoothly, illustrating the cycle of poverty and desperation in South Boston and the challenges of breaking that cycle. I had a natural inclination towards this book due to a youth...more
The true story of a kid growing up in South Boston in the Irish projects during the heyday of punk. This struck home to me because the author and I are the same age and many of the clubs and concerts he wrote about I was at! The book also talks about his huge Irish Catholic family, 4 of his siblings wh died, and making his pilgrimage to Ireland.
He has another book, All SOuls, which parallels this book but get more into the Irish projects, the Irish mafia that controlls Southie, the...more
He has another book, All SOuls, which parallels this book but get more into the Irish projects, the Irish mafia that controlls Southie, the...more
At several points during this book, I found myself wishing I'd read All Souls first. This is a really thoughtful memoir about growing up in South Boston, and is hard to put down. I wanted more on MacDonald's family life and less about his interest in the punk scene, and I certainly wanted to know more about his time in NYC and in Ireland. What it comes down to is that the main segments of this book felt rushed; from growing up in Southie to moving to NY and then his journey through Ireland. More...more
Good follow-up to All Souls. Whereas All Souls described MacDonald's family life in Southie, this one's about discovering punk rock and identifying with music as a means of understanding the world you're growing up in. In this one, he ventures out of Southie and befriends punk rockers from various Boston suburbs and goes out to see some great shows—legendary bands like Mission of Burma and The Clash among many, many others. It's a great memoir, especially for those of us who strongly value music...more
punk rock coming of age novel. Of course for me it has not only a local connection, but a PR connection and an Irish one. It's written in a very conversational manner that I really found compelling. Sad and funny and interesting.
This is the companion to "All Souls" by the same author. It is the continuing memoir of a large family trying to make a life for themselves while living in the projects of S. Boston. I couldn't put these books down. The author is an amazing person.
THis isn't the powerhouse that All Souls was, but it is still touching in it's own way. It was cool to recognize people from the Boston Public Library, and scenes from Newbury St, the Rat, and Thayer St. I enjoyed it, but it got a little wishy washy and lost focus at the end.
Excellent memoir about an Irish family living in Southie, Boston during the 1970's. Told from the point of view of Michael, who coped with his poverty through the punk rock movement.
A sequel to the stellar SOUTHIE. Irish project rat starts to resent his urban Irish-Catholic roots and ends up finding his identity by discovering the world of punk rock. Then he's practically forced into a trip to Ireland to see his heritage and discovers the pride and culture of his heritage.
Easy read and completely amazing. I might say this a little subjectively because this is fairly similar to my upbringing. I didn't grow up in a housing project but I did grow up in an Irish-Cat...more
Easy read and completely amazing. I might say this a little subjectively because this is fairly similar to my upbringing. I didn't grow up in a housing project but I did grow up in an Irish-Cat...more
If you are Irish and under 50, you should read this book. If you are also from Boston, and particularly if you could at any time in your life have been described as a "punk rocker", better run and get a copy right fucking now....
I enjoyed this follow-up to All Souls, especially reading about different places around Boston 20 years ago.
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Michael Patrick MacDonald was born in Boston in 1966 and grew up in South Boston’s Old Colony housing project. He helped launch many of Boston’s anti violence initiatives, including gun-buyback programs and the South Boston Vigil Group which served to give voice to the survivors of violence and the drug trade in that neighborhood. He continues to work nationally with survivor families and young pe...more
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