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No Irish Need Apply |  | Author: Edward C. Patterson
Publisher: CreateSpace
Category: Book
Buy New: $7.50
as of 9/3/2010 19:23 CDT details
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 124
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5
ISBN: 1434893952
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9781434893956
ASIN: 1434893952
Publication Date: March 11, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Kevin Borden has a secret, and that secret is about to shake the world around him - a tame and suburban world ruled by his widow mother, Sarah and peppered by his study-mate, Louis. Teenagers sometimes do the darndest things, but in Kevin and Louis' case, it's a stroke of wisdom wrapped in fool's gold. In a time not so long ago, in the days of JIM CROW and NO IRISH NEED APPLY signage, the world made it clear to those regarded as the fringe. "Stay away." To those who know no better - or perhaps know best, such lines are only meant to be crossed, or why else would they be drawn.
No Irish Need Apply takes a close to the bone view of the actual emergence from the closet - the pain, but also the importance. Dedicated to PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), this fast moving book was selected Book of the Month (June 2009) by Booz Allen Hamilton's Diversity reader group. (edited by author)
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| Customer Reviews:
 Made to Order for a PFLAG Book Club Discussion July 16, 2010
Sharon E. Cathcart (San Jose, CA United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Well-written and moving, "No Irish Need Apply" is a coming of age story about two gay youths, Kevin and Louis. They meet in school as assigned study partners and eventually discover that they feel more for one another than friendship.
Patterson treats the challenges of gay youth (dealing with homophobic students, coming out to family, etc.) with a gentle and honest hand.
Highly recommended for GLBT people, their families and allies, and members of PFLAG/GLSEN and similar organizations.
 Terrific plot, anachronistic characters. July 12, 2010
Michelle R (Minnesota)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Disclosure: I'm on a message board with the author, and I think we follow each other on Twitter, but I'm not sure we've ever really talked that much. I selected the book because I thought comparing the prejudices against the Irish with homophobia would be an interesting take. I'm not sure that was really all that fully explored however.
Disclosure 2: The author has left a comment clarifying the time frame for the story -- early nineties. As long as the reader knows this detail, I think it'll save them some of the confusion that I felt in reading the story. I still feel that the characters are all "old for their ages," but some of the references -- particularly to Rock Hudson -- make better sense in this light. I considered redoing the review with the new knowledge, but I think my initial confusion speaks to my genuine experience while reading, which I hope Edward's clarification, will avoid for other readers. Most of my comments still apply in that the "moms" would still have been exposed to at least some gay performers and would have dealt with the societal changes brought about by feminism and the sexual revolution, whether or not they embraced these concepts. I also still think the school, while the clarified time frame makes it more conceivable, seems set a little too far in the past, at least based on my teen years in the eighties where there was at least a smattering of "out" kids. Anyhow...
*** Original Review ***
Some of the prose was lyrical and some moments really sparkled, but at other times the language seemed awkward and the characters either inconsistent or not fully fleshed out. My number one issue and the thing that kept taking me out of the story again an again was that nearly every detail of the story seemed to be from an earlier time. There were enough indications that the story was meant to be set in the last 10 or 15 years, but the language and attitudes of the characters seemed to come from somewhere between the 1960s and 1980s.
The mothers of the young boys would be, in theory, my generation, but they're like few women my age that I've ever known. They seemed more akin to, if I'm being honest, my grandmother's generation. Even when I think of women of my mother's time, while it's a better fit, these women still seem discordant. Neither one seems like she came of age during or after the sexual revolution The mother of one of the boys, Kevin, is the more progressive of the two, and yet she still seems to be grappling with the discovery of her son's sexuality as if she's not living in a time where homosexuality is part of the culture the way that it is now. She explains to the other mother what the word "out" refers to and I can't imagine this being an unknown term to many people, let alone women who -- if the book is set in 2010 or thereabouts -- would have been exposed to Elton John, David Bowie, boy George and George Michael as still young women. (Conservative Irish Catholic families or not.)
The boys, Kevin and Louis, are jarring in a very similar way. In language choices and cultural references, they come across as late-middle aged men -- except for at a few key moments. Kevin, who is the one who discovers he's gay early on in the book, and certainly has not been part of or seemingly interested in gay culture, is as equally familiar with Gone With the Wind, including minor characters, as is Louis. They speak of Rock Hudson and his fate as if an actor from golden age of movies who died while their mothers would have still been minors is on their cultural landscape, no explanation needed for either one of them. Louis speaks of support groups, but they seem to be attending a high school set firmly in the past, where they're the only gay kids, or at least Louis is the only known gay kid before Kevin goes to prom with him. I'm not delusional enough to think the world is cured of racism, sexism, and homophobia, but I think it's a rare school today where there is no gay clique or where acceptance in at least some circles doesn't exist. The school consists of our couple, homophobes, and then a remaining student body with unknown views on the topic until Kevin and Louis enter the prom.
The teachers, when rumors of two gay boys emerge, are describe as collectively thinking about Lillian Hellman and The Children's Hour, again, as if this is a contemporary reference. Look, I'd love to think teachers were that well-read -- who wouldn't? However, even if that were the case, would a piece written in the thirties and make into a movie in the sixties really be relevant to them and where their minds would go as a group? Would two boys kissing in the hall really be a huge scandal for student body and faculty?
I mean, none of this is actually bad at all, if the story had been set at an earlier time. It would be less jarring and still really tell a story that is still relevant right now. I've read a couple books by a gentleman names Frank Anthony Polito -- Band Fags! & Drama Queers! -- set in the 1980s (in the area I grew up) that deal with many of the same topics. I think kids today might not get all the references, but the emotions and the issues remain contemporary. I think I could have really liked this book under those circumstances and I imagine the author might have felt greater comfort and freedom. When you take away this issue, I have very little to complain about. I thought some of the language stilted, found the characters occasionally inconsistent, but I also enjoyed and cared about these kids and their mothers.
I found Kevin, Louis, and Kevin's mother to all be interesting and each worthy of more time spent on them. I felt like I didn't have time to fully know any of them, and Louis's mother particular felt left by the wayside.
The bottom line is that I read the story and enjoyed it, even with the issue that you can see picked at me. I would give a qualified recommendation to anyone interested in or relating to the topic. This is still a story about love, acceptance, and parents coming to terms with the sexuality of their sons, and those are understandably important themes for a lot of people.
3 stars, up a little with the better knowledge of the time frame.
A WASP view February 28, 2010
L. Samuelson (Southern Idaho USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"No Irish Need Apply" paints a picture of two gay males, one struggling with his sexual identity, the other certain of his. When their passions get the best of them, they reveal themselves to their classmates. Consequently, the boys face social ostracism, even violence. Louis's statement, "You never get used to it - the hate. I mean no one ever gets used to hate," filled my heart with compassion. I've seen how cruel students can be to those deemed different. Anyone out of the ordinary can be and usually is cruelly persecuted.
Like other human beings they yearn for love and acceptance. Louis and Kevin find that love and acceptance in each other's arms...
If there was a flaw in the novel, it was that Kevin and Louis are somewhat one dimensional characters i.e. they were gay. They would have been more sympathetic to a heterosexual reader if they were given other passions and interests. L.W.
4 1/4 Stars November 13, 2009
Red Adept (Carolinas)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Plot Storyline: 4 Stars
I am reviewing this novel for exactly what it is: a light-hearted story laced with serious social commentary. It's not great literature, but it will make you think.
The title of this novel is an excellent representation of the subject matter of this book. Louis, a senior in High School, is ostracized due to his sexual orientation, just the way Irish immigrants, and other minorities, have been discriminated against. Louis shows what it is like to be different and how painful and truly scary it can be.
Some portions were borderline unbelievable. Louis and Kevin's first kiss takes place at school, where they are discovered. They spent time alone after school, so with the attitudes of their classmates, I would have thought they could have held back a little, especially Louis. Also, completely skipped over was how Kevin went from not even knowing he was gay to kissing Louis in the school hallway. I really felt cheated with this omission.
The Prom scene was very realistic. The actions and reactions of everyone involved were right on target. I think I held my breath as I was reading some of this part.
The sexual scenes were pretty much nonexistent. Although filled with innuendo, the book manages to relate this wonderful tale without even coming close to any graphic scenes. I was only shocked once when Kevin has a `too frank' conversation with his mother near the end.
Character Development: 3 3/4 Stars
Louis was a wonderfully sympathetic character. The reader gets a good feel for him and can easily empathize.
Kevin's development is a little stilted. I was left wanting to know more of his thoughts. It seemed almost as if one minute he was straight, and the next minute he was gay with not enough information on his thought processes. I also would have liked more on how he felt going from popular to `being different.'
Writing Style: 4 3/4 Stars
The dialogue was very good. The descriptions were succinct, yet allowed for easy visualization. The sentence structure was fairly simplistic, as befitted the tone of this novel.
As I stated above, this is not a `literary novel'. It's written in an easy going style that makes for a quick, fun read.
Editing/Formatting: 4 3/4 Stars
There were a few editing errors, but not so many as to be distracting. The formatting was of professional quality.
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Enjoy this review? Check out my Review Blog. Just do a search on Amazon for "Red Adept". The blog has reviews, author commentary and other articles.
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