Newsday Book Club: Chat with 'Someone' author Alice McDermott

Avid readers of Newsday’s Books section online and in print can now join the lively conversation at the Newsday Book Club.

Once a month, from June through August, we convene online to discuss a selected book with its author. The first pick is Alice McDermott’s “Someone” (FSG), a 2013 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction.

“Someone” offers a portrait, in vivid prose snapshots, of an ordinary Irish American girl as she grows up in Brooklyn, marries, and makes her own modest way in the world.

McDermott, a Long Island native, joined us for an online chat about her novel. Read the discussion below.