LoveReading Says
As is the case with so many good Irish literary novels, this is poignant, breathtaking and very sad. Following three stories told in three different voices that do eventually come together, it covers the years 1901 to 1941 through the tales of Jewish Lithuathian immigrants bound for New York who inadvertently disembark in Cork (sounds like New York) in Ireland.
Ruth is eight years old. The second story is Shem’s who is mute, struck so at his Bar Mitzvah. When we meet him he is eighteen. His is the saddest story of all for his life is irrevocably changed by a misinterpretation of circumstances. The third story is set today where Aisling, an Irish Catholic in love with a Jew, has a huge dilemma.
Can she make the ultimate sacrifice and convert to Judaism? She is given a book by her prospective inlaws that outlines the path she must take. It belonged to another and she seeks out the original owners with much then being revealed to us, the reader. It is not an easy read but it is certainly an impressive one. ~ Sarah Broadhurst
Reviewed by Sarah BroadhurstSarah Broadhurst spent her early working life in the book trade in both retail and wholesale until the arrival of children forced her to look for freelance work she could do from…
More reviews by Sarah Broadhurst About Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan
1901. Cork can sound very similar to New York to foreign ears and tired brains, so it's no surprise that Ruth's family - Jewish refugees fleeing the European pogroms - mistakenly disembark from their boat to America a few stops and a few countries too soon. Still, her father can spin a story like pure silk, so surely Ireland's just a layover till he writes his great play and they can continue their journey west. 1958.
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Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan Synopsis
1901. Cork can sound very similar to New York to foreign ears and tired brains, so it's no surprise that Ruth's family - Jewish refugees fleeing the European pogroms - mistakenly disembark from their boat to America a few stops and a few countries too soon. Still, her father can spin a story like pure silk, so surely Ireland's just a layover till he writes his great play and they can continue their journey west. 1958.
He's still not spoken. It's been years since Shem was struck mute at his bar mitzvah, forcing his mother to hand him over to the care of Catholic nuns. There aren't too many of his kind in Ireland let alone in the sanatorium, so it's a lonely existence, but at least his secret is safely locked up in his mouth and kept behind closed doors, where it can never hurt the one person he loves. 2013.
Aisling came to London to escape the Irish recession and concentrate on her career, not to fall in love with a part-time magician. She would marry him in a heartbeat, if only his family didn't insist that the ceremony should be performed by a rabbi. Unsure whether to give up her own heritage for some else's, Aisling looks to the past - from a rootless girl who never saw America to an outcast boy who never spoke again - to see if she can decide on her future.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781782398561 |
| Publication date: |
7th July 2016 |
| Author: |
Ruth Gilligan |
| Publisher: |
Atlantic Books |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
329 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Family Drama
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Ruth Gilligan Press Reviews
'Reminiscent of Tea Obreht, Nicole Krauss and Maggie O'Farrell... Wonderful' Colum McCann
'Graceful, confident, vivid... I loved this beautifully written novel Joseph O'Connor A rich and layered story of the complications, the mistakes and the heartbreaks of which a human life is made... I haven't read anything like it' Belinda McKeon
'Immensely readable and written with great flair Irish Independent Brimming with concepts and yarns' Irish Times
'Rich in plot and full of characters that have been neglected by Irish literature' Guardian
About Ruth Gilligan
Ruth Gilligan is an Irish novelist and journalist. She has written three previous novels: Forget, which reached number one on the Irish Bestsellers' List when she was 19, making her the youngest person in Ireland ever to have done so, and Somewhere In Between and Can You See Me, both published while she was still at university. She writes and reviews for the Irish Times, the Irish Independent, the TLS and the Guardian.
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