Almost There | 
 enlarge | Author: Nuala O'faolain
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 348117
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0641819099
Dewey Decimal Number: 070.92
EAN: 9781573223744
ASIN: 1573223743
Publication Date: April 6, 2004
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Product Description
Nuala O'Faolain burst upon the literary scene in 1998 with Are You Somebody?, a fiercely candid account of her youth and adulthood that became a surprise bestseller around the world. Almost There begins at that moment when O'Faolain's life began to change, and it tells the story of a life in subtle, radical, and, above all, unforeseen renewal. It is on one level a tale of good fortune chasing out bad-of an accidental harvest of happiness. But it is also a provocative examination of one woman's experience of "the crucible of middle age"-a time of life that faces in two directions, forging the shape of the years to come, and clarifying and solidifying relationships to friends and lovers (past and present), family and self. Almost There is a crystalline reflection of a singular character, utterly engaged in life.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
Brutal, disturbing, honest August 5, 2007
This is my first book by this author and thus have nothing else to compare this memoir to. My first impression was her honesty, with herself and with others: her alcoholic mother, her own drinking (a bottle of wine a night), her relationship failures both with men and women, and her regrets in life. Had she been an American publishing this book it would have been a sensation, but alas, because she is Irish and Catholic and an unknown in the US, the book made little waves here.
She mentions her first book "Are You Somebody" a lot in this memoir and this seems to be a sequel. It's the book that shot her to fame, which brought her interviews in the more progressive US Northeast where many Irish live. She ponders her success almost to the point of insanity, rather than enjoying her success for her efforts. It's that typical Catholic guilt feeling.
Her honesty with her seemingly gay relationship had me at first stumped. I almost stopped reading after her first mention of her ex-partner leaving her, but I overcame that after I continued her chapter. Then I realized that subject is just too tabu in the US. So I congratulate her for bringing that subject out in the open.
Her candor of her first book caused some heartache to others in her life, others who may have hurt her in the past. Was she trying to get even with them by publishing the events as they happened according to her? She's honest and covers the other person's point of view, which was a courageous act. Most people who write memoirs mention the people who hurt them, but few take the time to ask themselves why they hurt them, or the reasons for the behavior. Different people, different perspectives, says Nuala. Who's right?
It's definitely not an easy read or one that one laughs out loud reading. It's one more of the "Damn, that hurt!" reaction that, after more thought, allows the reader to gain greater respect for the author, and allows the readers to look deeper into themselves.
 NOT HALFWAY THERE YET ......... June 8, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
first off i want to say i shouldn't complain too much as i bought an autographed hard copy of this book for just $1.00 . Thank God for small favors . to begin with i really was enjoying this book in the beginning and too quick to imagine myself buying her first memoir .
what bothered me the most was her having an illicit affair with a man who even she described as not being educated, nor really a " looker " . yet time and again she would drive miles, hours, and pay for their trysts .
he'd bring hard candy ....lol.
like, didn't she wonder why she never heard nor saw this gink on holidays such as xmas . not even a card ? I think she knew in her deepest being. she's just the type of woman for some reason needs to be exploited as that's all she feels she truly deserves . it was sickening .
she's lucky to have found someone who cares . but, i didn't give a damn about her during this entire fiasco of a book . she saw the inside of more motels then " the gideon bible " .
my advice to her ...go back to column writing . she ought be ashamed to have her siblings read this as well as everybody else .
i don't believe in bookburning ..but, i'm tempted .
 A brutally honest book read by the author April 18, 2007
I could really relate to her life's reflections in relation to her own personal experiences as well as her perspective on universal family situations. Nuala's frank proclamation revealing her loneliness was quite powerful. The fact that she read this book on CD herself with wit and prose makes me want others to listen to her gift of gab.
 How Did Oprah Miss This One? November 24, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Yes, ma'am, this `analyze my life and then tell-all' book seems like the sort of fare on which Oprah could chew for several shows. It was ready-made for her book club and would have instantly been embraced by her angst-loving fan base, but somehow it stayed outside that sort of recognition. But that's not a cheap shot, I mean it, this is a book for those who like the sort of reading material common in Oprah's book club. So Oprah readers, go get this!
I don't know if I was supposed to, exactly, but I found this book gloomy, and mostly only liked the rare parts where Irish Times writer Nuala O'Faolain wasn't speaking so personally. Her reports on the state of Northern Ireland, her experiences in America (page 195, " 'America' was always the word for promise." Boy have I ever heard that before...) the compare and contrast moments that dealt with Ireland in relation to other places she's been, these were a lot more likely to hold my interest, I found, than her oft-murky forays into her own allegedly bleak childhood, her controversial romantic life, or her stark realizations at her own failings, failures, and foibles.
Still there's something endearing about a woman whose best mate is her dog, Molly, and whose singlemost passion in life seems to be her readiness to delve into self-deprecation as if it is also her salvation.
I don't regret reading Almost There, but I don't plan on seeking out any of Nuala O'Faolain's other published books, either.
Redemption May 15, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I love this book. While her first, Are you Somebody, was so full of darkness, this is full of hope. It is a book about redemption. She is not there yet, but almost there. She writes BEAUTIFULLY. A real wordsmith. The way she writes alone makes it worthwhile. I am in my 30s and male, and I found that I could relate to the themes she raises. They really are universal.
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