Diane Rehm: Alice McDermott's "Someone" Set In Immigrant Irish-Catholic Brooklyn

Novelist Alice McDermott never lived in Brooklyn, N.Y., but that’s where her family landed after immigrating from Ireland. She grew up listening to their stories of a pre-war Brooklyn that made it seem like an enchanted isle. The brownstones of that earlier, more romantic era provide the setting for McDermott’s latest novel, her first in seven years. It’s a portrait of the sort of character often overlooked in literature -- an ordinary woman -- neither special nor heroic, just concerned with the matters of family, community and the heart. “The poetry of the every day,” is a phrase often used to describe Alice McDermott’s novels, and she joins guest host Tom Gjelten to discuss her latest book.