The City Below - by James Carroll (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A New York Times Notable Book

"A rich, seductive meld of characters real and fictive, of history and fancy." -- New York Times Book Review

In this compelling family saga set during a tumultuous era in Boston history, 1960-1984, acclaimed author James Carroll chronicles the lives of two brothers, Nick and Terry Doyle, as they strive to move beyond the strictures of their working-class Charlestown neighborhood to "the city below."

Though one brother is drawn to the worlds of politics and real estate and the other to the underworld of organized crime, their fates remain inextricably linked as each struggles to break free of the blood tie holding him captive to the past. As in his previous bestselling novels Mortal Friends and Family Trade, Carroll seamlessly blends fiction and history to create a gripping tale of family bonds and ethnic violence, vows and betrayals, and political intrigue in the inner sanctums of both church and state.

Review Quotes

"A rich, seductive meld of characters real and fictive, of history and fancy." -- New York Times Book Review

"As a novelist-historian of our times, James Carroll might be compared to the British novelist Doris Lessing - his work has her range and intensity...Carroll has become one of the writers who shape our sense of ourselves." -- The Atlantic

"Carroll combines Boston's familiar turf and his staple historical personae--the Kennedys and Cardinal Cushing among them- -with a vibrant new cast of characters. The writing is dependable throughout (its strength being the dialogue), while the plotting offers spectacular twists, a breakneck pace, and a startling ending." -- Kirkus

"In The City Below, as in his earlier novels, James Carroll works the American counterparts to the precincts of Graham Greene. His characters engage with sexual, religious, and ethical dilemmas we pray not to face, in a Boston no other writer portrays with such scruple or power." -- Frederick Busch