Inspired by her heritage and research of the Irish Industrial
School system, Henry’s auspicious debut chronicles a couple’s attempt to save
their son from horrific institutions.
Marian McKeever and Ben Ellis are not typical
young lovers in 1957 Dublin, Ireland; she’s Catholic and teaches at Zion
School, and he’s Jewish and a budding journalist. The two plan to wed, but
their families object to an interfaith marriage. And when Marian becomes
pregnant, she doesn’t tell Ben. Coerced by Father Brennan (a Catholic priest
who is also her uncle), Marian goes to Castleboro Mother Baby Home, an
institution ruled by Sister Paulinas and Sister Agnes where “sins are purged”
via abuse; i.e., pregnant girls are forced to mow the lawn by pulling grass on
their hands and knees. Marian is told that her son, Adrian, will be adopted by
an American family. The riveting storyline provides many surprises as it
fast-forwards to 1967 where Marian and Ben are married and have a 10-year-old
daughter. Marian’s painful secret emerges when she learns that her son was
dumped in an abusive orphanage not far from her middle-class home and Sister
Agnes is his legal guardian. Thus begins a labyrinthine journey through red
tape as the couple fight to regain their firstborn child. Ultimately,
12-year-old Adrian is placed in the Surtane Industrial School for Boys, which
is rife with brutality and sexual abuse at the hands of “Christian Brother
Ryder.” Though unchecked church power abounds, this is not a religious
stereotype or an indictment of faith. Hateful characters like Brother Ryder are
balanced with compassionate ones, such as a timid nurse from the Mother Baby
Home. Father Brennan deepens into a three-dimensional character who struggles
to do what is right. Henry weaves multilayered themes of prejudice, corruption
and redemption with an authentic voice and swift, seamless dialogue. Her prose
is engaging, and light poetic touches add immediacy. For example, when Marian
returned to Mother Baby Home after 11 years, she “opened the car door and
stepped onto the gravel, wanting to quiet its crunch, like skeletons underneath
her shoes.” Echoing the painful lessons of the Jewish Holocaust, Henry’s tale
reveals what happens when good people remain silent.
A powerful saga of love and survival.
This is a disturbing book. It grabbed my attention at the
beginning, but the switching from past to present became a little hard to pay
attention to. The end pulled me back in though, I was thinking about the book a
while after I finished it.
Currently Reading: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Read in 2012: 7/20
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