Reprinted from auburnpub.com:
Now that fall is upon us, publishers set their sights on more serious fiction. This fall there is a
glut of great books, including from two of my must-read authors.
Writers are often told to “write what they know”. Mary Beth Keane and Barbara Kingsolver took that to heart in their latest incredible novels.
Mary Beth Keane has written some of my all-time favorite books, including Fever, a fictionalized account of the Irish immigrant labeled ‘Typhoid Mary’ by the tabloid press at the turn of the 20th century. She was blamed for causing on outbreak of typhus in New York City in which many people were sickened and three people died.
Her latest book is Whale Harbor, which tells the story of eleven Irish brothers, most of whom emigrate to America in the mid-20th century. Keane based this book on her father’s own family and the stories he told her of growing up in Ireland.
The book opens with Mac trying to rein in his younger brother Rian whose teacher declared he was the worst of the Joyce brothers. “He talked non-stop, fought, he bragged, he was an all-round contrary child”. And he refused to speak English, which frustrated Mac, who saw that speaking English was an important life skill even in their small rural Irish town.
Mary Joyce was a good mother, father Cathal was another story. He was a drinker who made and sold alcohol to others, and was generally not around when he was needed. Although the boys ranged in age, they were close and Rian idolized his older brother Mac.
After a family tragedy, Mac is shipped off to Montana where he works on a ranch run by the son of his neighbor in Ireland. Rian is devastated to be left behind, and eventually he ran away and disappears from his family completely.
Mac feels guilty, as he promised Rian he would always be there for him. Mac likes life on the ranch, and learns how to become a blacksmith, shoeing horses. He eventually makes his way to New York City, and many of his younger brothers follow him to America and New York.
The sections dealing with the Joyce brothers as they work their way up the ladder as day laborers, bartenders, taxi drivers, and more, is an interesting look at how immigrants come to this country in the hope of a better life. They work hard, fall in love, marry, and raise their own families.
Watching the Joyce family, and especially Mac and his growing family, filled my heart with such empathy. They had ups and downs as everyone does, and love holds them together through tough times. Mac is still haunted by the disappearance of Rian and continues to look for information about him for years.
I liked that the characters grew and changed, and Mac’s daughter's attachment to her grandfather Cathal is so beautiful. Whale Harbor is a beautifully written epic tale for those who love a great family story. I give it my highest recommendation.
Barbara Kingsolver won the Pulitzer Prize for her last book, Demon Copperhead, a retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield. I have loved her books over the years, and The Poisonwood Bible, about a family of American missionaries who move to Africa in the 1950s and 60s, is one of my perennial recommendations.
Her new novel is Partita is about a woman named Livia, who comes from rural West Virginia and dreams of becoming a classical pianist. When her brother dies in a train accident at the age of 18, the tragedy changes her family forever.
Livia’s talent earns her a music scholarship to a prestigious college where she meets and falls madly in love with a union organizer. They have a passionate, all-consuming affair, and when he leaves to go west for a job, it devastates Livia. Her life and musical career falls apart and she retreats back home to her parents.
Livia ends up marrying the young man who works on her father’s farm, and over the years she has a good life. Her husband is a good man, she teaches music, and is generally happy until she receives a phone call from the man who left her years ago asking to meet. That brings back all of her unaddressed feelings about him and that part in her life.
Barbara Kingsolver was a classical piano student and I although I’m not much of a classical music fan, I found this part of the story fascinating and learned so much. Those who love classical music will have a deeper appreciation of this story. Again, I give this book my highest recommendation, and it is a current Read With Jenna pick.
Both Whale Harbor and Partita have characters we grow to care about in stories that touch our hearts.
