Blog wrap up

The book “All Souls” is a captivating work of literature, told from the stand point of the

author Michael MacDonald, a young man who grew up in the heart of South Boston. Throughout

this book, Michael shows tremendous courage as he struggles through debilitating conflicts. His

ability to get up and keep fighting for his life is astonishing, given his young age through most of

the meat of the book.

Michael is the third youngest child in his family and is one of ten brothers and sisters, out

of those ten only 6 survive, including Michael. The brutal deaths of his brothers are enough to

move the reader to tears. From two murders, to a suicide, and the death of a baby, MacDonald

envelops his story with raw emotion that could make a grown man cringe. The events that occur

are almost implausible. The MacDonald family is hit with such tragedy that is repeated at a such

a regular rate throughout Michael’s adolescence into young adult hood, that it is truly hard to

believe at times. However, the fact that this type of story was typical for most everyone that lived

in Southie during the 70’s and early 80’s verifies that MacDonald is one of thousands who

experienced the pure terror that was South Boston.

Racism, drugs, and violence are three concrete themes that play a major role throughout

the entire story. Most of the chapters are based on one or all of these and without them, the book

would not exist. The violence and racism described can be hard to read at times for those that

don’t have a high tolerance for vulgar language, or violent criminal acts, but lessons can be

learned if the reader can be open minded enough to get through it. The book is a tough read in

the sense that the tragedy is overwhelming and one might have to put it down for a short time,

and recover emotionally before picking it up again. The sense of family and loyalty throughout

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the community are also felt by the reader, and MacDonald does an incredible job of using

inserting the idea of loyalty in Southie in each chapter without making it feel monotonous.

The use of language, and the mood created by MacDonald are also very specific to this

book. It feels as though the author is sitting down with the reader for coffee and telling his life

story. It makes the book enjoyable to read, and relatable, allowing the reader to feel vulnerable

and put themselves in MacDonald’s shoes. It is easy to get attached to each character described,

given the love that is displayed through the author’s descriptions.

Not only is this an inspiring story of courage and strength but it speaks volumes to the

reader. It has the ability to speak directly to a readers heart and makes one want to take action

after reading it. The fact that MacDonald has the ability to write well enough to make someone

want to change is a compliment to his ability as a writer and his decency as a human being. I

highly recommend this book to any reader, it fits into many genres when you dig deep enough

and is an informative, without being too overwhelming, piece of literature.