Younger Than Springtime Book

Bestselling novelist Andrew M. Greeley has captured the imagination of a worldwide audience with his trademark wit, charm, and sheer storytelling genius. Here he is once again at his very best, with his mesmerizing storytelling ability and keen eye for human detail that his readers have come to expect. With Younger than Springtime, Father Greeley returns to the compelling and compassionate postwar chronicle of the incredible, inestimable, and, as some call them, "crazy O'Malley family" from Chicago's West Side. It's 1949, a year that none of the O'Malleys or any of their legions of friends will ever forget. Charles "Chucky" O'Malley is back from his two-year tour in Bamberg, Germany, but his carefully planned future of Notre Dame and accounting is not exactly proceeding as planned. But when has it ever? His hall rector, Father Pius, is determined to catch him in an expellable act, and Chucky's interest in accounting is waning fast. What he does best is take pictures. He's not a Photographer--he is a "picture taker," plain and simple. Only there's nothing plain or simple about his pictures. They're elegant, insightful, and penetrating. He has real talent. But is it possible to support a wife and family doing that? Not that he has any intention of marrying anytime soon, mind you. Things are as complicated as ever between him and the lovely--and lively--Rosemarie Helen Clancy. There's also the matter of the intoxicatingly beautiful blonde (also talented and rich) Cordelia Lennon, with whom he's become semi-involved. Marriage is in the cards for other people: his dear sister Margaret Mary ("call me Peg!") and many of his friends who, like everyone else in America, are enjoying the post-war boom. (Even the O'Malleys have a big new house in Oak Park and spend summer weekends at the lake house.) With pluck, humor, and a very good ear for listening, Chucky has advice for all of his friends and family. It's only his own life and feelings that he can't quite get a grip on. It is the sound of Chucky's voice, self-deprecating, lilting, and humorous that permeates this triumphant story of love. For the history of every family really is a love story in a way--a series of love stories--but perhaps few are quite as remarkable as that of the O'Malleys. Read More