Ironweed

IRONWEED

by William Kennedy

Awards: National Book Critics Circle Winner 1983, Pulitzer Winner 1984

Nomination: NY Times Finalist 1983, PEN/Faulkner Finalist 1984

Date Read: June 21, 2020

Francis, a once successful baseball player with a promising career, has ended up on the streets, confronting his life's mistakes, which continue to mount. His career ended due to injury and slowly, piece-by-piece, he has lost it all - a son who accidentally died by his hands, a loving wife and other children, jobs, casual friendships and a romance that began in the streets.

The fact that Francis once had it all provides him the unique understanding that everyone he encounters on the streets - the drunks, prostitutes, petty criminals - all used to be so much more than what they are now. He is able to see that they were once someone's child, someone's love, healthy and whole unlike they are now. He honors those pasts in a way no one else does.

Francis also has the unique position of having a way out of his life of poverty in that his family wants him back and are willing to set the past aside to have him in their lives again. But Francis is unwilling to give up the streets, hell-bend on punishing himself and assuaging the guilt he carries for all the people he has harmed. While he can see and honor others' worthiness, he simply cannot honor his own.

Ironweed reminded me of The Man With The Golden Arm meets the Sixth Sense, in that Francis sees those spirits that have passed beyond and is able to speak with them. Kennedy is skilled, much like Algren, in creating a world on the margins, where humans are often invisible, disdained and loathed, and offering humanity, compassion and understanding that is otherwise lacking in mainstream society.