Child of My Heart (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Alice McDermott
- First Published: 2002
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: The early 1960’s
- Setting: East Hampton, New York
- Principal Characters: Theresa, Daisy, Flora, The artist, Ana, Dr. Kaufman, Mr. Richardson
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: 1960’s, Children, New York, United States or Americans, Parents and children, Adolescence, Teenagers, Sex or sexuality, Twentieth century, Women, Death or dying, Sick persons, Work or workers, Terminal illness or terminally ill, Pets, Middle age, Babysitting or babysitters
- Locales: Long Island, NY
Child of My Heart is a middle-aged woman’s reminiscence of her fifteenth summer, when she was in charge of “four dogs, three cats, the Moran kids, Daisy, my eight- year-old cousin, and Flora, the toddler child of a local artist.” Theresa’s recollections of that momentous summer possess a dreamlike quality, as if life in early 1960’s East Hampton was slightly removed from reality. The youthful characters are clearly delineated, their daily rounds meticulously described, while the portrayal of the adult world is sketchy, vague, and short on names. Unfortunately, adult...
[The entire page is 1653 words long]
