A Song for Mary: An Irish-American Memory

Dennis Smith's "A Song for Mary" is a powerful, emotionally gripping memoir that is one of the finest published in recent years. Along with Pete Hamill's "A Drinking Life", and Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes", it belongs in the first rank of great memoirs written by Irish-American authors. Speaking of Hamill, it is a Manhattan version of "A Drinking Life", replete with the chaos and woe associated with growing up poor and Irish in New York City. Smith's vivid prose conjurs up the Irish-American neighobrhood that was once the East Side of Midtown Manhattan. We see a young, bright Dennis Smith almost drawn into a life of petty crime, yet saved by love and devotion from his mother and local Catholic priests. Eventually the book ends positively, with his arrival as the rookie fireman at Engine Company 82, setting the stage for the events he described two decades ago in his bestselling memoir "Report from Engine Company 82". I am surprised that this fine book hasn't earned the wide audience it deserves. Anyone who has fallen in love with Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes" should also fall in love with Dennis Smith's "A Song for Mary".

Encore, encore. . . what a beautiful, wonderful story. I did not want this book to end I enjoyed it so thoroughly. What a brave and determined woman Mary was, and such an incredibly loving mother. This book is such a touching tribute to her, as well as a gut-wrenching look at growing up dirt poor and finding your own way in life. I loved this book and highly recommend it. Bravo Mr. Smith!

This book brought back many memories of growing up on the East Side of Manhattan in the early 50's. It's a poignant, yet loving look at "coming of age". I highly recommend it...

This book by Dennis Smith is a fine prequel to his Engine Co. 82. In 82 we saw a young man dealing with the job he has chosen for himself, and a difficult job that was. In Song for Mary we see the boy who became that man. The only way a man could become a fireman is if he had great compassion for humanity. Mary, his mother, gave him this compassion. The "Song" of the title resonates throughout the book with the haunting refrain of The Rose of Tralee. I thought this memoir was as good, if not better, than those of Frank McCourt and others which have filled the bookshops recently. A MUST-READ for anyone who cherishes their Irish-American heritage or if they came of age in New York City,

To me, "A Song for Mary" very dramatically tells the story of how hard it was for many Irish and Italian families living in the East 50's of New York City during the 1950's. When you first meet Mary, on the 2nd page of the book, you immediately realize that her life and the way she raised her two sons, is worth reading about. She never had it easy, but she worked hard and had great comfort, finally, through her sons. I know, because she was my mother-in-law. I know too that Dennis, my husband's brother, has given an accurate protrayal of the neighborhood, and the way people talked, acted, and lived their lives, for we have received man letters of congratulations from neighborhood people. The Washington Post said that no one has ever writted a better book about mothers, and I am certain they were able to say that only because they believed in the book's honesty. The story is told in the voice of a seven year old, when Dennis was seven, and the voice changes in small degrees as Dennis gets older, through the tough, brutal language of a street teen to the reserved, introspective voice of the young adult. It is a book that stays interesting and exciting from beginning to end. I may be prejudiced, but I still know how to evaluate a book, and "A Song for Mary" is a good read.