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| Plot Summary of Charming Billy |
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"Billy Lynch, the central character, is an alcoholic who has just passed away as the novel begins. As his friends and family gather to mourn Billy's passing it is revealed that Billy died from alcoholism. Through the words of his best friend Dennis the reader learns that years ago Billy fell desperately in love with an Irish beauty named Eva. Billy and Eva make plans to get married, and when Eva returns to Ireland Billy sends a large sum of money for her and her familys' voyage to the states. When Dennis is informed by Eva's sister Mary (whom he is dating) that Eva has married her sweetheart in Ireland, Dennis can't bear telling his best friend the devastating truth. Rather than dash Billy's romantic dreams, Dennis tells Billy that Eva has died in Ireland. Billy is destroyed by the news. Eventually, Billy marries plain Maeve, a woman who stands by his side through the years and must deal with his alcoholism. It is clear that Billy has never recovered from the loss of Eva. When Billy travels to Ireland to an alcoholic's clinic some twenty years after "losing Eva" he gets the shock of his life, one that totally changes his entire perspective on his life.
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sandra Calhoune, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Charming Billy |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1930's-1950's
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Coping with loss of loved one(s)
Yes
Loss of...
- wife/girlfriend/squeeze
Druggie/Wino problems?
- alcohol
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- blue collar
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- physically sick
Main Adversary
Identity:
- natural phenomena
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 6 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Alice McDermott Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 sandra Calhoune
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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