What I Lived For (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Joyce Carol Oates
- First Published: 1994
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: May 22 to May 28, 1992 (with a prologue from December 24 to 27, 1959)
- Setting: Union City, a large city in upstate New York
- Principal Characters: Jerome “Corky” Corcoran, Timothy Patrick Corcoran, Theresa Corcoran, Sean Corcoran, Charlotte Drummond, Thalia, Christina Kavanaugh, Vic Slattery, Oscar Slattery, Marilee Plummer, Howard Greenbaum
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: Murder or homicide, Alcoholism or alcoholics, Substance abuse, Death or dying, Remarriage, Catholics or Catholic Church, Stepfamily, Ireland or Irish people, Memorial Day
- Locales: Union City, NY
What I Lived For is a gripping dissection of contemporary American politics and mores that reveals, among other lessons, how tight a hold the past has on the present and how difficult it is for anyone—whether an individual or a city—to escape its clutches.
Corky Corcoran appears, on most surfaces, to be the American success story. A fourth-generation Irish American, reared in Union City, an Irish Catholic enclave in upstate New York, Corky has become a millionaire in various business ventures; he is also a city councilman and a friend or acquaintance of some of the...
[The entire page is 1823 words long]
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