Twist of Gold [Hardcover]

Michael Morpurgo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1983

A story of courage and tenacity beginning in Ireland during the potato famine and moving to California. Age group 10 plus.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When, in the Ireland of 1847, "a sudden blight . . . reduced the countryside to a pungent mass of black rot and left the people starving," an English dragoon helps Sean O'Brien, 13, and his 10-year-old sister, Annie, to leave their ravaged homeland. Following an eventful sea voyage from Cork to Boston, the youngsters struggle across a rough, new America to find their father in California. With only the family "torc"--an ancestral golden medallion given to them by their dying mother--for protection, the children are dealt life lessons along the way in both the goodness and the inhumanity of man. Sentimental in the best sense of the word, this epic journey gathers momentum as the children draw ever nearer their destination. As the pace pours on, the story loses some of the beauty and lyricism of Morpungo's ( King of the Cloud Forests ; Waiting for Anya ) musical dialogue, and conflicts are resolved a little too conveniently; but the novel remains a colorful, engaging, Dickensian read to its happy and affecting conclusion. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-- History and wonder combine in this novel that uses the Irish potato famine of 1847 as its core. Readers will come away from it with an understanding of the dreadful conditions in Ireland that prompted so many to find a new life in America. What detracts from the story are the plot contrivances. The novel begins in County Cork where the O'Briens are suffering through the effects of the famine. Three siblings have already died and Sean and Annie's mother's death seems imminent. Their father has gone to America and has promised to send for the family when he reaches California. Rather than starve while waiting for him, the youngsters head to America with only their lucky family heirloom, a golden torc, to protect them. Their adventure begins on the ship crossing the Atlantic. Morpurgo's descriptions of the conditions on board and those they find in Boston and on their cross-country journey are realistic. The precious torc becomes the catalyst for the relationships that develop in their travels. Characters are either good or evil, and each time it seems that Sean and Annie have lost everything, a twist of fate and just the right person come along to move them toward their ultimate goal. The most outrageous turnabout comes at the end when the youngsters finally reach California, find their father, and discover their mother there as well. This book has much to offer as historical fiction, but the plot development is too artificial. Conlon-McKenna's Wildflower Girl (Holiday, 1992) is a more successful choice for fiction dealing with the same theme. --Renee Steinberg, Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: David & Charles; 1st.ed. edition (June 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0718239717
• ISBN-13: 978-0718239718
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,850,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twist of Gold: A Review, September 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Twist of Gold (Hardcover)

This book is extremely good, with pages that will have you hanging on every word. It is about two children who are coming to America, from Ireland because of the famine, in search of their father. They had to leave their mother behind with the baby, and all they have to protect them it a "twist of gold"; a torc that has been in the family for years. From Ireland to California, there are plenty of mishaps and troubles, but also plenty of laughter and good parts. Although it is very tragic, and long, you won't put it down until it's done. I read this book when I was 11, and it has been my favourite ever since. I suggest this book if you want a good full book that will keep you reading for a while!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's a fast-paced fantasy adventure story that fails to capture a realistic portrayal of the American immigrant experience, October 5, 2009

By 

American Immigration Council's Community Educ... (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twist of Gold (Paperback)

Two Irish children, hounded by starvation and plague, escape the potato famine, and leave behind three dead siblings as well as a dying mother to venture by sailing ship to America in search of their father. The kids find themselves working the streets of Boston before heading west across the continent via riverboat and wagon train to find their father and no-longer dying mother. (Wait. How'd she get well and go from Cork County to California?) Sean and Annie endure crooks, shipwreck, and getting stranded the desert; but they prevail.

Besides the inexplicable use of apostrophes for quotation marks, the problem with this book is its loose connection to historical accuracy. It's a fast-paced fantasy adventure story that fails to capture a realistic portrayal of the American immigrant experience.