A darkly gripping portrait of an Irish-American family A multi-generational novel set over the course of a day, The Other Side centers on the journey of Vincent and Ellen MacNamara. Married for sixty-six years, the two have seen their share of hardships: emigration from Ireland to America; the bitter disappointments handed down to their children and grandchildren; and, most recently, setbacks to their health. In The Other Side, Vincent returns from a period of convalescence in a nursing home after Ellen, disoriented from a stroke, had pushed him to the ground, injuring him. As family members assemble, the incident becomes a nexus for the anger, anguish, and misunderstandings that have simmered for decades. As frankly observed as it is compassionately imagined, The Other Side is one of Gordon's finest novels.
"Gordon's talents as a mesmerizing storyteller and a chronicler of the human heart come together in a brutally honest and tenderly compassionate novel about a family who transcend their particularities to represent the saga of Irish immigrants and their descendants in America."
