Blue Collars

Told through the eyes of young Finn Kilroy in the 1950s and 1960s, Blue Collars by Catherine McLaughlin tells the story of Finn’s young life and all the triumphs and tragedies of Finn and her family. Her story unfolds in the South End in New Bedford, Massachusetts, a neighborhood where immigrant families lived side by side in (mostly) three-decker tenement houses. From Finn’s childhood to her coming of age, we experience her families life of love, abuse, and heartache, as well as having a backdrop of historical events.

While reading Blue Collars, one of the first things I noticed, and really enjoyed, was that the plot was character-driven, and, honestly, by the story being character-driven, you can fall in love with the characters (and, even though the characters have their faults and flaws, they are pretty loveable). McLaughlin writes lyrically, moving the story along with the way she writes. I did not want to set down Blue Collars until the very end.