The Walking People

The dust jacket for this little gem doesn't do it justice. This (as another reviewer put it) is not "chick lit", it's a rumination on the meaning, place, membership and definition of home; never a cut and dried answer. Keane's eye for detail is superb (only sometimes too much so) and even thirty pages in one feels as if they know these characters very well. The reader comes to care about them as if they are actual people -- we see our parents and grandparents so vividly in them. She does a perfect job in making us almost as homesick for "old Ireland" as her immigrant characters. If you've never been to Ireland, I can tell you a turf fire is the best smelling thing on earth and good brown bread is manna from heaven. But, as Keane is so adept at pointing out, that Ireland doesn't exist anywhere else but a string of tourist-attracting B & B's in the South of the Emerald Isle. Ireland has undergone enormous econimic boom and it shows. So the dreams and stories of "home" are just that. No amount of sentimentality will bring back the thatched roofs or the lamplight. Ireland has grown up, just like our characters. The tension in this story is that of a people who romanticize the past anchored to a place and a people no longer seen but only remembered, embellishments that grow larger as the years and miles wear on. They know they can never return because in many ways, the home they pine for never existed. I disagree with still another reviewer who was dissatisfied with the story's end. It ended perfectly, realistically -- exatly as it should have. Everyone knows the big secret, but no one will ever tell. Just like their shared conception of home (which they know is false), and just like Michael's sudden memory lapses. It's gone, over. Another thing I applaud Keane for is the fact that she wrote such a wonderful plot-driven novel that never pandered. I am sick to death of authors who simply cash in on guts and sex and horror and try to call that an accomplishment. Writing is hard. Writing a well-crafted story is harder. She does both well, without straying into sensationalism, and for that she should be highly commended. READ THIS!

Mary Beth Keane's "The Walking People" begins in the 1950s on the Cahill farm in rural Western Ireland. The Cahill family lives a primitive life on their farm, without modern conveniences. When the two youngest Cahill children--Johanna and Greta--decide to emigrate to America after a family tragedy along with Michael, a traveler who has settled in with the family, their lives begin to change in ways they never would have imagined possible. The novel traces their epic journey from Ireland to New York, and their unexpected lives as the unfold. This novel was excellent. It traces the lives of its main characters over a 50 year time span and does a wonderful job following their differing emotions as they adapt to life in America, start a family and age. The story gives a more detailed account of late immigrant life in America than most other stories I've read. The majority of the story is told from Greta's perspective, as she goes from odd ball daughter in Ireland to lover and mother in America. Her emotional journey is poignant and incredibly engrossing.

On the rugged coast of Galway, the Cahill family survives by managing their small holding and by illegally fishing salmon from the river, a privilege reserved for the leading family of the area. When things go bad for the family, the mother, Lily, desparing of providing her youngest two children of a good life, sends them off to America. The youngest, Greta, doesn't want to leave; her home and her mother are the constants in her life. But her older sister, Johanna, is a driving force also; and where she goes, Greta will follow. Accompanied by a tinker boy, who yearns for a settled life away from the rootlessness of his roving family, the sisters emigrate to New York. Due to circumstances that arise, Johanna abandons the other two and strikes out on her own, always a free spirit who cannot be contained in one spot for long. Greta and Michael discover a comfort in each other's company, and forge an unbreakable bond that endures through 50 years, until Johanna again unbalances their lives with a rude re-entry. The tale of Greta's emergence from a shy, unsure-of-herself wallflower to a self-assured matriarch is a stirring tale, well-told and absorbing. Mary Beth Keane, the author, invests a knowledge and love of the Irish landscape and people into every sentence in the book, as she develops Greta into the person she never thought she could be and gives Michael the cornerstone he has been searching for all his life. This is one of the most well-considered books I have read in a long while. Full of descriptive prose, and pulsing with spirit, it takes us along on an intrepid journey from the comfortable old shoe of the homeland to a new and challenging world of strangeness and new ideas.

"The Walking People" is a richly textured, beautifully written novel. Spanning a fifty year period, from 1956-57 to 2007, this timeless story of immigrants seeking the American dream could have taken place in any era. First or second generation Americans will recognize, in the Cahill and Ward families, the courage it took for their own ancestors to leave the "old country" and seek a better life. Raised outside a dying Irish country village, Johanna and Greta Cahill seize their opportunity to immigrate to the United States. An American visitor to their village has "invited" them to stay with her if they ever cross the ocean. Shannon, thus, provides the impetus for the girls to follow through with their desire to go to America. Accompanied by Michael Ward, a traveller or one of the walking people, the two sisters arrive in New York to begin their new lives. Each of the three must overcome the past in order to thrive in the United States; only two, Greta and Michael, are able to do so. Michael seeks stability and a home. The disrepute with which the itinerant life of his ancestors is viewed haunts him so that he is hesitant to connect with other Irish immigrants. Greta provides him with the anchor he needs to reach his goal. Greta, labeled as the "goose" in Ireland, discovers she is smart and competant. Nevertheless, she continues to doubt herself, but still embraces and succeeds in building her life in the States. Johanna, Greta's older sister, isunable to overcome her wild streak. She returns to Ireland, abandoning her child to Greta and Michael's care: Julia is Michael's child, as well, conceived during the ocean passage to America. Mary Beth Keane is a skilled writer who brings her characters to life. She develops their personalities and allows the individuals to grow into complete, strong people. Keane is able to make the reader care deeply about each individual; one wants good things to happen to the characters. Further, Keane is able to build the emotional impact of this simple story without the reader realizing she is doing so. The poignant chapters dealing with Michael's retirement, and Greta's realization that he is experiencing symptoms of Alzheimers are beautifully written. As I finished the book, I found tears streaming down my cheeks. Keane has an artist's gift for description; the reader can feel the sea breezes, the blackness of the water tunnels, and each location in which the novel's action takes place. Emotions are raw and realistic. Keane shows us that people may still carry self-doubt even when they appear to have overcome the past. In some way, each of the characters in this novel is one of the walking people. Someone who moves through life, always seeking and always hoping to find; someone who meets challenges and is not defeated by circumstances. "The Walking People" is a wonderful book; I will be recommending it to all my friends.

Mary Beth Keane has written a remarkable debut novel with THE WALKING PEOPLE. This is a beautifully written story of the Irish immigrant experience, but with a slight twist in that the story begins in 1956 and ends in 2007. Greta and Johanna Cahill are sisters living in a small seaside cottage in Ballyroan, a small village that at one time consisted of seven families, but know consists of the Cahill family - Big Tom, Lily, Jack, Padriac, Little Tom, Johanna and Greta - and one other neighbor. The closest town is Conch, about four miles away. Life is hard in Ballyroan (there is no electricity) and the Cahill men earn a living by illegally fishing and selling salmon. One day, a young woman named Julia Ward shows up at the Cahill's door. Julia comes from a group of travellers, sometimes known as "Tinkers". These people travel the countryside, never staying in one place. Thus begins a connection between the Cahill's and the Ward's that would last for many years and encompass both Ireland and America. This is primarily Greta's story. There is nothing unlikable about her. Johanna is probably the least likable character, but at some point in the story, she becomes a periphery character, and you almost forget why she's unlikable. This is also a love story. Love between Michael Ward and Greta, love between Greta and Johanna's daughter, also named Julia whom Greta is raising as her own and love of "home", wherever that is, be it Ireland or America. Keane has done a wonderful job in portraying life in a small Irish village and life in New York City. Her description's of Michael's work in the water tunnels of New York City is both alarming and gritty. Incredible written detail and beautifully drawn characters made this a pleasure to read.