At Weddings and Wakes (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Alice Mcdermott
- First Published: 1992
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: The 1960’s
- Setting: Brooklyn and suburban Long Island, New York
- Principal Characters: Robert, Margaret, Maryanne, Lucy Towne Dailey, Bob Daily, Momma Towne, May Towne, Agnes Towne, Veronica Towne, Donald Towne, Fred
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: 1960’s, Family or family life, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Mothers, Parents and children, New York City, Sisters, Death or dying, Tragedy, Catholics or Catholic Church, Separation, Weddings
- Locales: Brooklyn, NY, Long Island, NY
The Novel
Momma Towne ruled the roost when she received it from her sister, who died in her fourth childbirth leaving an infant, Veronica, and three other little girls—Lucy, May, and Agnes. Perhaps Momma gathers the children closely to her because she feels guilty about taking a ready-made family from a dead sister. Perhaps she feels remorse from being angered by the killing hand of God after she waited seven years in Ireland for the chance to come to her sister in the United States. Perhaps the guilt is the result of her deliberate and successful attempt to tempt her...
[The entire page is 2307 words long]
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