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The Bright Freight of Memory
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.
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.
- GenresComing Of AgeFiction
252 pages, Paperback
Published November 19, 2024
1 person is currently reading
3676 people want to read
About the author
Greg Fields
3 books113 followersGreg 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 two other national recognitions. His first novel, Arc of the Comet, was published in 2017. He is currently an editor for his publisher, Koehler Books, and has presented at several writers conferences, including the International Dublin Writers Festival, the Bay Area Book Fair, and Central Coast Writers Conference. The Bright Freight of Memory has won the American Writing Awards honor for Literary Fiction, the Chrysalis/BREW Book of the Year, and has been nominated for a PEN/Faulkner Award.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 2, 2024
Is a story about two boys from a poor neighborhood growing into adulthood and old age a tale of tragedy or resilience? Greg Fields’ The Bright Freight of Memory demands that you reevaluate not just its characters but your own assumptions about the human condition. This isn’t just a novel—it’s a sprawling meditation on trauma, legacy, and the elusive search for meaning.
“Our fathers sinned, and are no more; it is we who have borne their iniquities.”
The novel opens with a haunting quote from Lamentations. But is this merely biblical rhetoric, or does it underline the Cooney family’s curse? From Michael Cooney's escape from a famine-era Irish workhouse to Jock Cooney’s violent alcoholism, the book traces a lineage of suffering. Are these men victims of their past, or complicit in perpetuating it? The sins of the fathers, indeed.
A Story Etched in Washington, DC’s Forgotten Corners
Fields crafts his tale in the shadowed alleys and rundown neighborhoods of Washington, DC—a far cry from its grandiose monuments. The city becomes a silent witness to cycles of poverty and despair, echoing Steinbeck’s California in The Grapes of Wrath. How many stories of broken dreams are hidden behind DC’s political façade?
The Data Beneath the Drama
According to a 2023 report by the Urban Institute, neighborhoods like those depicted in Fields’ novel experience intergenerational poverty rates of over 50%. Through Matthew and Donal’s struggles, Fields illustrates not just fiction but a statistical reality. When Matthew remarks, “Everyone steals. We’re just part of the herd,” it’s less a justification and more a resignation to the societal structures that limit escape.
A Legacy of Irish Immigrants
The Cooneys and Mannions are steeped in Irish-American heritage, their stories tracing back to Ireland’s Great Famine. Fields channels the lyrical, melancholic prose of James Joyce, offering a tribute to the Irish diaspora. Yet, he poses a brutal question: does emigration bring salvation, or does it merely transplant old wounds into new soil?
Trauma as Inheritance
The novel’s emotional core lies in Matthew Cooney, whose father’s belt leaves both visible bruises and invisible scars. His mother’s attempt to soothe him with whiskey—an echo of the Irish tradition of “drowning sorrows”—is emblematic of generational coping mechanisms that are both tender and destructive. Could such acts, well-meaning but flawed, explain the cyclical nature of the Cooney family’s struggles?
Rhetorical Questions as Prose’s Soul
Fields peppers the narrative with unspoken questions: What is the price of survival? Can love redeem the irredeemable? When Matthew asks his mother why his father beats him, her answer—“It’s just the way things are”—is both heartbreaking and infuriating. Are we all complicit in accepting cycles of abuse because we lack the language to break them?
The Prose: Music in Pain
Fields’ prose is as musical as it is devastating. A passage describing the Irish schooners of Kinsale laments their replacement by pleasure boats, calling them “the faulty, tarnished memories of the lost times.” It’s a sentence that mirrors the Cooneys themselves—outdated, clinging to a world that has already left them behind.
An Ending That Is Both Epilogue and Eulogy
Without spoiling, the novel closes on a note that is both hopeful and resigned. It is not a neatly tied bow but a fraying thread, inviting readers to reflect on their own “freight of memory.” Can we ever truly escape our past, or do we carry its weight forever?
Final Thoughts
The Bright Freight of Memory is not for those seeking an easy read. It is for the brave reader willing to confront the ugliness and beauty of humanity. Its characters are deeply flawed, yet undeniably real. Its prose sings, even as it mourns. And its questions linger long after the final page. What freight do you carry, and how brightly does it shine in your life?
“Our fathers sinned, and are no more; it is we who have borne their iniquities.”
The novel opens with a haunting quote from Lamentations. But is this merely biblical rhetoric, or does it underline the Cooney family’s curse? From Michael Cooney's escape from a famine-era Irish workhouse to Jock Cooney’s violent alcoholism, the book traces a lineage of suffering. Are these men victims of their past, or complicit in perpetuating it? The sins of the fathers, indeed.
A Story Etched in Washington, DC’s Forgotten Corners
Fields crafts his tale in the shadowed alleys and rundown neighborhoods of Washington, DC—a far cry from its grandiose monuments. The city becomes a silent witness to cycles of poverty and despair, echoing Steinbeck’s California in The Grapes of Wrath. How many stories of broken dreams are hidden behind DC’s political façade?
The Data Beneath the Drama
According to a 2023 report by the Urban Institute, neighborhoods like those depicted in Fields’ novel experience intergenerational poverty rates of over 50%. Through Matthew and Donal’s struggles, Fields illustrates not just fiction but a statistical reality. When Matthew remarks, “Everyone steals. We’re just part of the herd,” it’s less a justification and more a resignation to the societal structures that limit escape.
A Legacy of Irish Immigrants
The Cooneys and Mannions are steeped in Irish-American heritage, their stories tracing back to Ireland’s Great Famine. Fields channels the lyrical, melancholic prose of James Joyce, offering a tribute to the Irish diaspora. Yet, he poses a brutal question: does emigration bring salvation, or does it merely transplant old wounds into new soil?
Trauma as Inheritance
The novel’s emotional core lies in Matthew Cooney, whose father’s belt leaves both visible bruises and invisible scars. His mother’s attempt to soothe him with whiskey—an echo of the Irish tradition of “drowning sorrows”—is emblematic of generational coping mechanisms that are both tender and destructive. Could such acts, well-meaning but flawed, explain the cyclical nature of the Cooney family’s struggles?
Rhetorical Questions as Prose’s Soul
Fields peppers the narrative with unspoken questions: What is the price of survival? Can love redeem the irredeemable? When Matthew asks his mother why his father beats him, her answer—“It’s just the way things are”—is both heartbreaking and infuriating. Are we all complicit in accepting cycles of abuse because we lack the language to break them?
The Prose: Music in Pain
Fields’ prose is as musical as it is devastating. A passage describing the Irish schooners of Kinsale laments their replacement by pleasure boats, calling them “the faulty, tarnished memories of the lost times.” It’s a sentence that mirrors the Cooneys themselves—outdated, clinging to a world that has already left them behind.
An Ending That Is Both Epilogue and Eulogy
Without spoiling, the novel closes on a note that is both hopeful and resigned. It is not a neatly tied bow but a fraying thread, inviting readers to reflect on their own “freight of memory.” Can we ever truly escape our past, or do we carry its weight forever?
Final Thoughts
The Bright Freight of Memory is not for those seeking an easy read. It is for the brave reader willing to confront the ugliness and beauty of humanity. Its characters are deeply flawed, yet undeniably real. Its prose sings, even as it mourns. And its questions linger long after the final page. What freight do you carry, and how brightly does it shine in your life?
November 19, 2024
Greg Fields writes a dramatic story in The Bright Freight of Memory
In The Bright Freight of Memory, the reader is brought into the lives of Matthew and Donal, friends of the streets, which is what brought them together in the first place. Life in the down and out neighborhood is more about obstacles, struggles and survival. I haven't read anything by this author before, and what a hidden gem. I enjoyed it so much, that I have now followed the author and look for more books to read. The reader learns that neither Matthew or Donal had a father to speak of, or even any prospects of a future. It's something they engrained into their brain to live one day at a time and not for a tomorrow. As men, they went their separate ways, and learned a lot about themselves, and the streets, and of course, playing the blame game on their childhood, which could have halted their maturity. This is a grand read for a coming of age story, and how it is so different from others. Street boys growing up to be men, and how they allowed their childhood to define how they lived, risk after risk. Fate, probably not. A very unpredictable story, my favorite kind! Both thrilling and intriguing, all the way to the end. It was a grand read, and I hope that more people read this. It's a story that needs reading. Proof that life isn't for the faint of heart, at least city life. The Bright Freight of Memory is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book also write a review.
In The Bright Freight of Memory, the reader is brought into the lives of Matthew and Donal, friends of the streets, which is what brought them together in the first place. Life in the down and out neighborhood is more about obstacles, struggles and survival. I haven't read anything by this author before, and what a hidden gem. I enjoyed it so much, that I have now followed the author and look for more books to read. The reader learns that neither Matthew or Donal had a father to speak of, or even any prospects of a future. It's something they engrained into their brain to live one day at a time and not for a tomorrow. As men, they went their separate ways, and learned a lot about themselves, and the streets, and of course, playing the blame game on their childhood, which could have halted their maturity. This is a grand read for a coming of age story, and how it is so different from others. Street boys growing up to be men, and how they allowed their childhood to define how they lived, risk after risk. Fate, probably not. A very unpredictable story, my favorite kind! Both thrilling and intriguing, all the way to the end. It was a grand read, and I hope that more people read this. It's a story that needs reading. Proof that life isn't for the faint of heart, at least city life. The Bright Freight of Memory is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book also write a review.
January 27, 2025
LOVED THIS BOOK - The Bright Freights of memory is a haunting and poignant exploration of the cycles of poverty, alcoholism and despair that can persist across generations, 'All of us born to it, with no angels of redemption watching over us.' Donal with his love of stories and poems shows promise, he has the want in him to make a better life, his lack of self belief knocks him every time, at least he tries. Matty never did. Was he better off that he had no awareness of another way of life, accepting a life of homelessness and thievery, maybe it was the cheap whiskey his mother gave him as a child from her flask to help him 'forget this very bad night.' An easy and deeply affecting read, forcing the reader to confront the harsh realities faced by many Irish American families and the ways in which historical trauma and social marginalization can perpetuate suffering, whilst celebrating the tenacity of the human spirit and the bonds of community.
February 9, 2025
Praise for The Bright Freight of Memory as Greg Fields deftly carves out characters, pushing past the shards of a broken heart to the soul of existence. In true Irish terms, Fields delves into the questions found at the bottom of a glass of scotch, of finding grace within a broken life and fighting to be more than a past set into motion before our existence? The promise of love fleshes out the hollow existence of a rejected heart’s purpose as the reader finds themselves on a journey to accept the destinies of two men, brothers in fate, bound by violence and poverty.
October 27, 2025
This book is a beautifully written novel about how the sins of the father become the burden of the son. If you are looking for something uplifting, this is not it. It is tragic and raw, sad and heartbreaking. But it is also real and moving. The book is about regrets and absences and the pursuit of the roads not taken. It is a character-driven novel and my only complaint is that I wish more had happened in the story.
December 28, 2024
This book is a winner of the Book of the Week Award. (Reference link that will go live on or after 25 February 2025: https://booksforhumanityglobal.com/20...)
March 19, 2025
The stories well written and engaging. I enjoyed how the main characters lives came together at the end. I appreciate the message the book gives about poverty, generational substance abuse, and issues faced by immigrants.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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August 28, 2025I'm not going to rate this book because I skimmed the last 80 pages. I was finding this book too relentlessly depressing to keep reading fully. Thanks to Koehlerbooks for a copy of this book won through a Goodreads giveaway.
December 3, 2024
The Bright Freight of Memory is a beautifully written and thought-provoking book, with rich prose and relatable characters. A memorable and engaging read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2024
Healing and refreshing
December 4, 2024
I love this books
December 7, 2024
love this one!!
December 17, 2024
Awsome book. I. Love it
November 27, 2024
This story follows two friends, Matthew Cooney and Donal Mannion from childhood to adulthood. The chapters go between the two boys’ stories sharing each of their upbringing and the hardships they endured. Both grew up poor and had to learn to adapt to their environment. Their fathers were not in their lives and their mothers raised them quite differently. Matthew was ambitious and curious and was always on the lookout for something to do. Donal was opposite of Matthew and preferred to lay low. He wasn’t ambitious but he knew that at some point in his life he would have to take responsibility for his choices. The two friends’ lives move in different directions and, by chance, meet again in a bittersweet situation.
This was a lovely story about friendship and growing up in poverty. It depicts the struggles of childhood and how it can lead to hardships in adulthood. I enjoyed the two stories and how different each of the boys’ lives were. There were lots of interesting and realistic insights throughout. One that stood out to me was that we can never truly know the outcome of our life based on our childhood. For instance, I thought Matthew was going to make it big but was surprised at his outcome. And, Donal, being “lazy” in his ways, would make me believe that he would end up nowhere made something of himself. What I found out of place was near the end of the story, where it shifted to Donal’s girlfriend’s third limited-person perspective. Her character lacked depth in relation to the overall story, making her point of view unnecessary. I would have preferred staying with Donal’s to tie everything together.
This was a lovely story about friendship and growing up in poverty. It depicts the struggles of childhood and how it can lead to hardships in adulthood. I enjoyed the two stories and how different each of the boys’ lives were. There were lots of interesting and realistic insights throughout. One that stood out to me was that we can never truly know the outcome of our life based on our childhood. For instance, I thought Matthew was going to make it big but was surprised at his outcome. And, Donal, being “lazy” in his ways, would make me believe that he would end up nowhere made something of himself. What I found out of place was near the end of the story, where it shifted to Donal’s girlfriend’s third limited-person perspective. Her character lacked depth in relation to the overall story, making her point of view unnecessary. I would have preferred staying with Donal’s to tie everything together.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews