First published 2000
Billy Lynch's funeral is over, and forty-seven family members and friends crowd into a small Bronx restaurant to remember him. His widow Maeve sits among them, respected by all for how she stood by Billy through his final years of alcoholism. The mourners share stories over their meal until someone mentions "that Irish girl." This casual remark sends the gathering into Billy's past, uncovering his tragic love affair with Eve. The restaurant becomes a place where memories collide and secrets emerge. Through the voices of those who knew him best, Billy's story unfolds backward through time. At its center are three people: Billy himself, Eve the woman he loved and lost, and Maeve who married him afterward. His cousin Dennis, Billy's closest friend, holds many of the missing pieces. McDermott weaves together an Irish American tale that moves between America and Ireland, revealing how one man's heart was divided between two women and how love can survive even when it destroys.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: America, Bronx, Ireland
Period: 20th-century
319 pages · Paperback · Garzanti
Content warnings: alcohol-abuse