Beautifully written. The interview with the author at the end helped me understand the Catholic themes underlying the story. I'll read again in a few years. ( )

Here's what I wrote in 2008 about this read: "This was good. Charming Billy was an extreme alcoholic, but with a history and set of circumstances which tormented him. His daughters come to understand him fully only after his death." ( )

Recorre los lados del particular triángulo conformado por las vidas de Billy, Maeve y Dennis y narra con maestría y sin piedad cómo en toda familia arden heridas que nunca llegan a cicatrizar.

The story of an extended family centered around the funeral of charming Billy, an alcoholic obsessed with his lost early love. About the disappointments of life, memories, redemption, and love. ( )

Framed by the narrative of the family funereal gathering for the late Billy Lynch, the novel recounts Billy's life, his early lost love, his struggle with alcohol, his never-lost charm. We're also given the lives of other members of the family and their close, everyday relationships, especially how Billy's live - and death - have influenced them. The real charmer here is the story itself, and the lovely way it is told, through the sweetness of its quotidian details, the mundane made holy, in some way. So excellently written, this one. Definitely recommended. ( )