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        Ironweed


        setting

        Albany, New York

        time

        1950s

        language

        English

        region

        North America

        year published

        1979

        page count

        227

        difficulty

        Intermediate

        main characters

        Phelan Family, Helen

        Rip's impressions

        There are few flaws in this book; can't put it down. Beckett told us it had all been done; Kennedy showed it could still be done, and better.

        first line

        Riding up the winding road of Saint Agnes Cemetery in the back of the rattling old truck, Francis Phelan became aware that the dead, even more than the living, settled down in neighborhoods. The truck was suddenly surrounded by fields of monuments and cenotaphs of kindred design and striking size, all guarding the privileged dead.

        last lines

        (spoiler alert)