Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Pg. 69: Mary Beth Keane's "The Walking People"

Today's feature at the Page 69 Test: The Walking People by Mary Beth Keane.

About the book, from the publisher:
Greta Cahill never believed she would leave her village in the west of Ireland until she found herself on a ship bound for New York, along with her sister Johanna and a boy named Michael Ward. Labeled a "softheaded goose" by her family, Greta discovers that in America she can fall in love, raise her own family, and earn a living. Though she longs to return and show her family what she has made of herself, her decision to spare her children knowledge of a secret in her past forces her to keep her life in New York separate from the life she once loved in Ireland, and tears her apart from the people she is closest to. Even fifty years later, when the Ireland of her memory bears little resemblance to that of present day, she fears that it is still possible to lose all when she discovers that her children—with the best of intentions— have conspired to unite the worlds she’s so carefully kept separate for decades. A beautifully old-fashioned novel, The Walking People is a debut of remarkable range and power.
Read an excerpt from The Walking People, and learn more about the book and author at Mary Beth Keane's website.

Mary Beth Keane's short fiction has appeared in various newspapers and journals including the Chicago Tribune, The Antioch Review, The Baltimore Review, New York Stories, and The Recorder.

The Page 69 Test: The Walking People.

--Marshal Zeringue