Love's Not Over 'til It's Over

For fans of Alice McDermott and Colm Toibin, Edward Byrne's Irish-American saga is richly written and deeply felt: I dare you to not shed a tear while reading it. Set in Queens from the 1950s on, you'll feel like you've traveled back in time as the details of the eras unfold with the story. The Devlin family has its share of hard knocks but their faith, their bonds, and the moral center of the book-- James Devlin-- keep them together and moving forward in the right direction. If you like family dramas and New York settings, if you enjoy very authentic Irish-American period detail, or if you just enjoy gorgeous writing, pick up this book!

Love's Not Over 'Til It's Over Makes you reconsider what counts most on our brief journey through life.

This is a great book for those who can appreciate a serious, thought provoking read. It is the story of an Irish-American family, the Devlins, from Queens, New York. Although it is set in the 1950's and beyond, the actual story begins with the experiences of James Devlin's father, Dave, on the beach of Peleliu during World War II. Dave is considered a war hero, (but not by himself-he blames himself for his best friend's death) and is from a generation that believed war was a duty to be performed without questions. This lays the groundwork for one of the major conflicts in the novel and comes to a head with the arrival of the Vietnam War. Dave views James as his proxy, who will go to war and somehow exculpate him (Dave) of his own perceived sins. James must handle the generational gap, the moral and ethical problems of a war he doesn't believe in and at the same time find a way to save any relationship with his father.There are many other themes in the book that have to do with the travails of growing up, but the author was clever to subordinate them to the main overall themes (in my opinion) of the book which seem to be the relationship between fathers and sons and the concept of love and the premise that "love can never be eradicated once it truly takes root".The writing style of this author is descriptive but without becoming boring and burdened with too many details. The prose are laden with imagery: "The afternoon was stretching out, stepping on the evening's toes", and although the book is serious, numerous sprinklings of Irish humor are to be found throughout.The end of the book does feel a little like a Grisham novel (which I personally like), but it was done with purpose and was necessary to tie all of the loose threads together. Another theme of this book is about making choices. At the very end, we see a glimpse of James's married adult life. Again there is a choice to be made and it is gratifying to see that we can, in fact, learn from our mistakes.This book is well written and worth reading. It would be particularly good for book clubs.

Perhaps, not since the Civil War had young American men entered into such dire conflict with their fathers as they did during the Vietnam war. Fathers who believed in “My country right or wrong” found sons (and to some extent daughters), questioning every aspect of the commitment to Vietnam. Many veterans became bitterly disappointed in their children as the kids wrote off their fathers as dinosaurs and crypto-fascists. Few, if any, novelists have examined this conflict as thoroughly and touchingly as Edward T. Byrne in his novel, LOVES’S NOT OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER.Dave Devlin is a WWII veteran racked by guilt because he could not save his buddy, Johnny D’Amato, at Peleliu in the Pacific. A psychological wound he carried for the rest of his life. His son, Jimmy, adored his father until it came time to serve. Dave felt that his son could “pay for his sins” by serving with distinction. With a high draft number and ambitions to be a lawyer, James had no desire to fight and maybe die in southeast Asia. The men became estranged.This is a novel about DISAPPOINTMENT and what it does to fathers and sons. For James, the son, it aroused feelings of unworthiness as he drank too much, did too much weed, and sought vengeance on all he thought wronged him. For Dave, the father, disappointment brought on feelings of despair and guilt that ultimately led to him being estranged from his two kids and abandoning his wife.The novel is not perfect. It can be episodic and lose itself in nostalgia. The female characters are very slim. But, as far as mining a rich vein of pain for a generation of men who are becoming grandfathers themselves, it hits the mark like an arrow to the soul.