Publication Date: November 19, 2024
In the end I believe our flaws define us more than our virtues. Shakespeare’s greatest plays, the tragedies, revolved around their heroes’ flaws rather than their glories.
Matthew Cooney and Donal Mannion shared their time as boys in a rundown neighborhood, without fathers, without comfort, without a sense of tomorrow, then went their separate ways, one to chase the trappings of maturity, the other to the streets. Their days shrouded in boredom, their nights filled with the thrill of the chase, each sought his place and his purpose.
Within their struggles are the challenges of escape, of outrunning the roll of the dice that placed them where they are, and, in the end, of defining what it means to be alive, to constantly strive for the things that are just out of reach.
Does the past determine the future? If so, Matthew Cooney and Donal Mannion are destined to continue the cycle of alcohol-fueled rage and unhappiness.
Author Greg Fields delivers a thoughtful-provoking story featuring the two boys in The Bright Freight of Memory. The author’s writing style is conversational, making the words come alive, almost like the story is being narrated.
While the story of the two boys and their quest for relevance is a unique approach, so, too, is the literary aspect. Their adventures unfold within the pages, but the story goes deeper than just detailing events. A significant amount of reflection is embedded within the text to provide the necessary context.
While Matthew follows the more traditional route on the streets, Donal manages to claw his way into a different future. Even as their paths cross again, Matthew and Donal learn that sometimes there are no good choices. The characters are raw and gritty, made even more so by their environment.
The Bright Freight of Memory serves up two flawed main characters constantly striving for things that always seem to be out of reach.
Greg Fields is the author of Through the Waters and the Wild, winner of the 2022 Independent Press Award for Literary Fiction, the Independent Publishers Association Award, the New York Book Award for Literary Fiction, and several other national recognitions. His first novel, Arc of the Comet, was published in 2017. Greg is also the co-author with Maya Ajmera of Invisible Children: Reimagining International Development from the Grassroots. He has won recognition for his written work in presenting the plight of marginalized young people through his tenure at the Global Fund for Children.
