Good historical fiction should be a history lesson that doesn't feel like a history lesson, illustrating history through personal stories that engage us and allow us to see the history unfold through the eyes of characters we feel a connection with. That is exactly what this novel does as it takes us through the Irish potato famine and the Irish American immigrant experience through the story of the Kelly family. We meet the narrator, Honora, as a young woman, about to enter a convent until she is swept off her feet by Michael. They begin to build a family and a life together until the Great Starvation, as it became known, threatens to destroy them. The story then follows them through their immigration to America, taking us through several generations until Honora is an old woman. I found it a painful story to read at times as I knew what hardship was yet to come. The Kelly's are delightful characters, and soon came to feel like friends, which made the hardships of the famine seem all the more real and tragic. This story is loosely based on the author's family, and the stories she grew up hearing, but she has also done a great deal of research. It is a fairly long book, but it didn't feel long and I was sorry when it was over. It left me wanting to read more about Ireland, although I think it may be hard to find another book to equal this one. I read this book to gain insight into how my Irish relatives lived in the 1840's through the last half of the 19th century (in Ireland and then living in America). It was sad reading about how poorly they were treated by the English in Ireland, who by all accounts let the Irish starve during the potato famine (1845-1848) while exporting Irish crops to England. It took courage to leave Ireland for America, where the Irish were despised for many years. Mary Pat Kelly says: "We are all descended from people forced from their homes who turned the tragedy of exile into triumph by simply surviving."I enjoyed the last half of the book more than the first so I gave it 4 stars.
What do You think about Galway Bay (2009)?
Fabulous!!! Makes the characters come alive! Nice bit of history in there too....
—kmolsen0
A very nice historical fiction. I really enjoyed Galway Bay.
—lambuu
