The author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Ironweed continues his acclaimed Albany Cycle with this tragicomic novel about a turbulent Irish-American family haunted by real and imagined sins. Dreamers, drinkers, and failures, their heartbreaks and prevailing sense of humor are at the core of what may be Kennedy's most accomplished work.
For William Kennedy fans, Albany conjures up a tapestry of great beauty and complexity in which the lives of an Irish American family are woven. Earlier Albany novels, including Ironweed, a Pulitzer Prize-winner, whetted our appetites. Now Very Old Bones treats us to one last look at the odd and turbulent Phelans, circa 1958. Stretching the boundaries of life as the Phelans know it, this powerful work flows back and forth in time, riding on the melody of its language. Its great theme is the promise of redemption for those who seek it.