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The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan

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The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan, is a haunting and gripping tale of a young irish girl trying to face realliy after the civil war.

Mairhe Mehan has recently come from Ireland with her brother, and father when the war comes her brothe goes off to fight, leaving mairhe and her father to themselves, when mairhe's father loses his mind, she tries despretly to get her brother back. the army will let him be released for a large price. stuck with the delema of how to earn so much money, Mairhe dicideds to knit lace. But as always things don't come out as the should, and Mairhe has to find somthing to do with her father, and herself. Jennifer Armstrong's play on words and dramatic style make The dreams of Mairhe Mehan a chilling glimps in to this young girl's troubled life.

The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan: A Novel of the Civil War by Jennifer Armstrong (1996)

This book has been in my house begging to be read since 2004. With seven years of build up maybe it's not a surprise that this book did not leave me dazzled. Maybe that was the only possible outcome. The story is interesting but from the outset the book had a lot working against it including a plain cover (mine has a white background with black text and . . . nothing else) and some difficult pronunciation ("Mairhe" is pronounced "Moira" and is the Irish form of "Mary" all of which I thought was made clear in the novel but someone didn't because there is a note at the start of the book explaining all of that--which makes the whole thing feel intimidating).

At 128 pages (hardcover) I hesitate to explain much of the plot but I will say this: Armstrong does a great job if you look at this as a slice-of-life novel. Although I liked Mairhe as a heroine the entire story hinged on a character being likable and I just didn't like him very much. It happens. Her descriptions of the Civil War battles and Washington of the time are stunning and evocative in a way few writers ever manage. The writing here is lyrical and immediately brings to mind an Irish brogue which adds to the dream-like quality of the entire book.

If anyone can even find this book anymore (NYPL no longer has it) I'd recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction, who is interested in the Civil War, or wants a book about the immigrant experience as much of the plot hinges on what it means to be American (or Irish) in an era when America was still figuring out its identity as a country.

_The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan_ is a haunting and lyrical book about Mairhe Mehan, a young Irish girl living in the slums of Washington DC during the Civil War. Mairhe's family has been separated; her brother is off to fight for the Union, and her father pines for his native Ireland as his mental capacity deteriorates. The story is told through Mairhe's dreams, a poetic mix of Irish lore and the stark(but somehow dreamy) reality of the war.