March 01, 2015

A Parish Near Ebbets Field

     I wrote this novel a few years before going to Japan. It's a bucket list publication that I still enjoy, and I wanted to honor some of the writing I've done in the past and to swim in the soup of my Brooklyn origins. 

     Just published in January, this is a funny, tender, and heartrending novel of characters in a Catholic parish in the 1950's in the vicinity of Ebbets Field. The Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field were the heart and fabric of the city in the early 50’s; the parish formed a center of identity for the church faithful; and the church clock tower tolled the rhythms of the day uniting everyone in the intrigues and intricacies of human activity. Echoes of Irish mythology reveal characters that live the social and religious movements of the times in and among the Jewish community in the aftermath of World War II. The characters are wise, foolhardy, humorous, and compassionate. A dual love story is threaded through a tale of an old jealousy among friends that gradually unfolds with Irish humor and a baseball team headed toward victory.


Here are a few comments from the reviews on Amazon:

By the fourth chapter, a particularly fine and lyrical piece of writing, the reader has taken a seat in McNulty's Tavern and waits expectantly with the rest of the crowd for the next riveting installment of the narrative.

I loved the character development and being immediately drawn into a sense of place and time.

A fine tale filled with endearing characters, set in a Brooklyn that readers aren't normally privy to.