Understanding William Kennedy (Understanding Contemporary American Literature)

Often compared to Joyce and Faulkner, Kennedy examines the people in his native community to make observations and revelations about the dynamics of life in general. The result is a portrait of the author's vision of the American experience, a portrait shaded toward the experience of the disenfranchised - the immigrant and the ethnic (especially Irish) American, the striker, the outlaw, the bum. Kennedy received critical acclaim and a Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for his depiction of the homeless in his novel, "Ironweed". This study examines all of Kennedy's works to his most recent novel, "Quinn's Book " (1988).