BKMT READING GUIDES



 
Insightful,
Beautiful,
Inspiring

9 reviews

Someone: A Novel
by Alice McDermott

Published: 2013-09-10
Hardcover : 240 pages
11 members reading this now
32 clubs reading this now
10 members have read this book
Recommended to book clubs by 7 of 9 members

A fully realized portrait of one woman's life in all its complexity, by the National Book Award-winning author

An ordinary life--its sharp pains and unexpected joys, its bursts of clarity and moments of confusion--lived by an ordinary woman: this is the subject of Someone, Alice ...

No other editions available.
Add to Club Selections
Add to Possible Club Selections
Add to My Personal Queue
Jump to

Introduction

A fully realized portrait of one woman's life in all its complexity, by the National Book Award-winning author

An ordinary life--its sharp pains and unexpected joys, its bursts of clarity and moments of confusion--lived by an ordinary woman: this is the subject of Someone, Alice McDermott's extraordinary return, seven years after the publication of After This. Scattered recollections--of childhood, adolescence, motherhood, old age--come together in this transformative narrative, stitched into a vibrant whole by McDermott's deft, lyrical voice.
Our first glimpse of Marie is as a child: a girl in glasses waiting on a Brooklyn stoop for her beloved father to come home from work. A seemingly innocuous encounter with a young woman named Pegeen sets the bittersweet tone of this remarkable novel. Pegeen describes herself as an "amadan," a fool; indeed, soon after her chat with Marie, Pegeen tumbles down her own basement stairs. The magic of McDermott's novel lies in how it reveals us all as fools for this or that, in one way or another.
Marie's first heartbreak and her eventual marriage; her brother's brief stint as a Catholic priest, subsequent loss of faith, and eventual breakdown; the Second World War; her parents' deaths; the births and lives of Marie's children; the changing world of her Irish-American enclave in Brooklyn--McDermott sketches all of it with sympathy and insight. This is a novel that speaks of life as it is daily lived; a crowning achievement by one of the finest American writers at work today.

A Publishers Weekly Best Fiction Book of the Year

A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book of 2013
A New York Times Notable Book of 2013
A Washington Post Notable Fiction Book of 2013
An NPR Best Book of 2013

Editorial Review

No editorial review at this time.

Excerpt

No Excerpt Currently Available

Discussion Questions

No discussion questions at this time.

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

No notes at this time.

Book Club Recommendations

Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
by ginny c. (see profile) 10/15/21

 
by Maria D. (see profile) 02/07/20

 
  "someone"by Carolyn R. (see profile) 08/02/19

I'm almost hesitant to write anything as a review since so many seemed to love and appreciate this book For this I am glad - but it wasn't for me. I get what the author was trying to do == maybe a... (read more)

 
by Patricia T. (see profile) 11/05/17

 
by Kathy K. (see profile) 05/09/17

 
by Kim F. (see profile) 03/18/17

 
by JoAnn L. (see profile) 06/04/16

 
  "Someone"by Suzanne S. (see profile) 10/20/15

Alice McDermott's prose is exquisite. Someone is a novel about ordinary people described through the eyes of Marie and her daily life from youth until old age.Her descriptions are so visual you think you're... (read more)

 
by Lisa Creech B. (see profile) 09/29/15

 
by Elizabeth J. (see profile) 04/17/15

Rate this book
MEMBER LOGIN
Remember me
BECOME A MEMBER it's free

Book Club HQ to over 88,000+ book clubs and ready to welcome yours.

SEARCH OUR READING GUIDES Search
Search




FEATURED EVENTS
PAST AUTHOR CHATS
JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

Get free weekly updates on top club picks, book giveaways, author events and more
Please wait...