He Got Hungry and Forgot His Manners

by Jimmy Breslin

Father D'Arcy Cosgrove, originally from Ireland but recently out of Africa, in the company of Baby Rock, who lives by mayhem, and Disco Girl, who lives by making babies, soon learns that violence is good for business

275 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Jimmy Breslin was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American columnist and author. He wrote numerous novels, and pieces of his have appeared regularly in various newspapers in his hometown of New York City. He was a regular columnist for the newspaper Newsday until his retirement on November 2, 2004.

Among his notable columns, perhaps the best known was published the day after John F. Kennedy's funeral, focusing on the man who had dug the president's grave. The column is indicative of Breslin's style, which often highlights how major events or the actions of those considered "newsworthy" affect the "common man."

Reviews

[Alan Michael Wilt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breslin subtitles this novel "A Fable," and it reads like one--a modern, gritty, smart-alecky, urban fable of an outsider's encounter with the New York City poverty machine of the late 1980s. No one writes about New York quite like Jimmy Breslin, and his love for his subject, warts and all, is apparent. He may stretch the reader's credulity with some turns of the plot, but he keeps your eyes peeled to the page with his voice.

[Jackmccullough · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel isn't perfect, but it's a good, strong, angry reaction to Reagan's war on the poor.
Of course, until Bush, I hardly imagined that it would be possible to hate a president more than Reagan or Nixon.

[SL Reads and Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book years ago after the title caught my eye from the library shelf. I think everyone should read it before they comment on our "welfare state." Or drug testing people on welfare. Or how "easy" it is to live off welfare.

[Alex Therrien · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great commentary on society through an absurd fable.

[Judith · Rating 1 out of 5]

For such a short and easy-to-read book, I found it very difficult to finish this thing.

Jimmy Breslin is known for his investigative reporting. Apparently his fiction has some fans, too. I don't understand it, though.

He calls this one "a fable". I guess that's a start. The story features a priest named Cosgrove who, after spending time in Africa, is sent to New York City to spread the word about sex. Or at least that's how Cosgrove interprets his mission. He brings along a large African native named "Great Big", because that's what he is.

Cosgrove runs into an array of persons who are subsisting on public money. They are not having a great time of it, and find it necessary to supplement their incomes whatever way they can. Cosgrove's primary interest is sex, and his attitude about poverty is that it will always exist so he doesn't exactly care. He tries to preach about sex to whoever will listen, and mainly gets blank stares. It is hard to care about the church's rules about sex when one is looking for a meal, or a home.

Over time Cosgrove gets involved with prostitutes, drug-runners, some kind of mafia, mostly without fully appreciating what he's doing. Meanwhile, Great Big is satisfying his huge hunger any way he can, and when that involves some unsavory moves Cosgrove excuses them. Hunger overrides other concerns.

The whole is written in a choppy style that I found awkward. There is a lot of jumping from one scene to another, without real explanation. Perhaps it would have been better to write this as a play, if at all. Through his machinations with the government offices, Cosgrove learns of the absurdities in the social services systems. This, I believe, is the main point of the book. I get it. I would have rather read an article about this subject, or a nonfiction book even.

Breslin is a good journalist. I think he should stick to nonfiction.

[BinChic · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of those "not what I thought I was picking up" kind of buys a billion years ago from a bargain bin... guess I got what I paid for. It might appeal to some, but again, this just was not up my alley.

[Stanley Foshay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book although slow reading, shows what it is like for many on welfare deserving or not. It also showed the views that the Roman Catholic Church attempts to impose on people. At he same time you can compare many of the characters in today’s society. It was written in the style of a modern day journalist in the city of New York.

[Aaron Polish · Rating 4 out of 5]

it had action and good character, I liked it

[John Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This may say more about the reader (me) than it does the writer (Breslin) but I just thought this was klind of a mess of a book. Maybe I just didn't get it. It was written in 1988 so I was old enough to remember Howard Beach but, not being a New York resident, maybe I just don't appreciate the points that Breslin, being the award winning columnist that he was (including a Pullizter Prize for Commentary,) was trying to make. But there were bits and pieces here and there that I thought were pretty funny and the writing was good so I'll try another one…eventually.

[D. Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A modern classic

Breslin takes on church, city, the mob and state in this funny, yet poignant novel. It maybe from the 80's, but the story still significant in today's time