Paradise Alley

A Novel

By: Kevin Baker

Narrated by: Kevin Baker

At the height of the Civil War, word spreads through the poorest quarters of New York City that a military draft is about to be implemented -- a draft from which any rich man's son can buy an exemption. The outrage this inspires escalates into the worst urban conflagration in American history.

Down in the waterfront slum of Paradise Alley, three women -- Deirdre Dolan O'Kane, Ruth Dove, and Maddy Boyle -- struggle with their private fears as they wait for the storm to descend upon them. Deirdre, devastated by the news that her husband, Tom, has been wounded in Gettysburg, must turn for comfort and aid to two women she has always judged as morally depraved -- Ruth, married to an ex-slave, and Maddy, a hard-living prostitute.

©2003 Kevin Baker; (P)2003 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Highly recommend!

This book was one of the best books I've ever read. I've purchased three copies of it to give away, and have since downloaded the authors other books, I've just finished "Dreamland" and it was as good as this one. I wasn't sure when I joined Audible that I'd be able to "listen" to a book, but Paradise Alley is the perfect book for this, the story pulls you in and you won't want to stop listening!

Gripping yet gruesome tale

This book captures a series of events during the Civil War that I believe the authors of textbooks have deliberately chosen to ignore--the draft riots in New York. The novel, well narrated by its author, captures the cruel frenzy of mob psychology as bands of toughs, and otherwise regular citizens, go on a seemingly unending destruction of the city and particularly the lynching and humiliation of its African-American residents. Yet amid this evil chaos, the novel contains carefully crafted stories of human love and survival. First person narratives are interspersed to create a plot that is engaging and poignant--a job well done!

This time the author should not be the reader

This book was okay: started slow, got much more exciting, and ended leaving some storylines dangling, although it summarized the period philisophically. The historical detail was captivating and the characters were complex; as the tale moved along, I changed my views about two of the characters (Robinson- went from liking him to hating him and Dangerous Johnny Dolan - went from hating him to pity). The author was the narrator, and he dragged the story down, in my opinion. Sometimes the story seemed a little wordy; it was much better when there was some action, or when it was focused on what had happened back in Ireland during The Hunger.

The HBO series that will never be made

If you want to know something if the of NYC it's people and how they lived and died during the deadliest riots in American history, then this book is a must read.

couldn't finish

I gave two stars because I can't really rate the book. I will say that authors that try to narrate their own stories are delusional, stupid, and probably very cheap. The narration in this book is not good and the story seems to have no direction or too many. I like first person stories that are more like I did this or we did that. Might be fine for others but not me.