The Walking People [Hardcover]

Mary Beth Keane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 20, 2009

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Debut author Keane offers an extended meditation on leaving, finding and making home in a novel focused on the new Irish immigrant experience. Awkward, dreamy Greta Cahill was always in the shadow of her vivacious older sister, Johanna, as the two grew up on the far west coast of Ireland. Surrounded by houses left vacant by neighbors who emigrated, adventurous Johanna dreams of America, especially when, in the aftermath of a family tragedy, she befriends Michael Ward, the son of itinerant tinkers who wants nothing more than to stay in one place. When teenaged Johanna's dream comes true, Michael and Greta are dragged along to America in Johanna's impetuous wake. In New York City, however, Greta and Michael create their own home, happiness and success. The narrative, which extends from 1956 to the present, has the dusty feel of 19th-century literature, though Greta is an appealing character lacking in nostalgia. Her romance is also authentic and unsentimental, and despite the stodgy storytelling, her coming-of-age reflects a fresh take on the lives recent immigrants can create. (May)
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From Booklist

In her debut, Keane marries a deliciously old-fashioned style of storytelling with a fresh take on the immigrant experience. Awkward Greta Cahill struggles to be accepted in her rural village in the west of Ireland. Unlike Johanna, her gregarious, efficient sister, Greta has a hard time performing even the simplest tasks, but her tight-knit family loves her unconditionally and takes pains to ease her way. More and more of their neighbors desert their small village, immigrating to the cities and to America. Then Johanna meets Michael Ward, a gypsy who would like nothing better than to settle in one place, and the Cahill family suffers a terrible tragedy. The sisters, along with Michael, immigrate to New York City, where Johanna has difficulty adjusting, while Greta, surprisingly, finds work immediately and adapts to her new life. Tracking the family from 1956 to the present, Keane gives a heartfelt account of their pain and their joy while also minutely exploring varied settings and occupations. A warm, involving family drama that makes a triumph of Greta’s transformation from misfit to capable wife and mother.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (May 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0547126522
• ISBN-13: 978-0547126524
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,329,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MARY BETH KEANE attended Barnard College and earned an MFA from the University of Virginia, where she was a Henry Hoyns fellow. She was a winner of the Chicago Tribune's Nelson Algren Prize in 2004 and was a 2005 Pushcart Prize nominee. The Walking People is her first novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The American Dream seen through Irish eyes, April 15, 2009

By 

Flight Risk (The Gypsy Moth) "Exiled Yankee" (usa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Walking People (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

On the rugged coast of Galway, the Cahill family survives by managing their small holding and by illegally fishing salmon from the river, a privilege reserved for the leading family of the area. When things go bad for the family, the mother, Lily, desparing of providing her youngest two children of a good life, sends them off to America. The youngest, Greta, doesn't want to leave; her home and her mother are the constants in her life. But her older sister, Johanna, is a driving force also; and where she goes, Greta will follow.

Accompanied by a tinker boy, who yearns for a settled life away from the rootlessness of his roving family, the sisters emigrate to New York. Due to circumstances that arise, Johanna abandons the other two and strikes out on her own, always a free spirit who cannot be contained in one spot for long. Greta and Michael discover a comfort in each other's company, and forge an unbreakable bond that endures through 50 years, until Johanna again unbalances their lives with a rude re-entry.

The tale of Greta's emergence from a shy, unsure-of-herself wallflower to a self-assured matriarch is a stirring tale, well-told and absorbing. Mary Beth Keane, the author, invests a knowledge and love of the Irish landscape and people into every sentence in the book, as she develops Greta into the person she never thought she could be and gives Michael the cornerstone he has been searching for all his life.

This is one of the most well-considered books I have read in a long while. Full of descriptive prose, and pulsing with spirit, it takes us along on an intrepid journey from the comfortable old shoe of the homeland to a new and challenging world of strangeness and new ideas.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Secrets of the Irish, April 17, 2009

By 

BrianB (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Walking People (Hardcover)

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There is an old adage concerning the writing business that advises the writer to write what he or she knows. In The Walking People, Keane follows this advice to the great advantage of her readers. She captures the experience of the twentieth century Irish diaspora in this winning novel. I suspect that she carefully researched the details of life in Galway and New York 50 years ago, but the most important details are not the result of research. They spring out of one's own experience, and sometimes grace the pages of a novel. This is just such a story, one that is certainly worth your while.

Keane exposes the intimate details of characters who live with secrets. The secrets are a part of their whole family. Greta, the protagonist, lives with a lie that she clings to, even when it threatens her relationship with her sister and her daughter. Watching Greta grow up, the reader can sympathize with her motives, which underlie her irrational and destructive behavior.

If you remember that time and place, you will meet a lot of familiar people in this book. Keane creates characters that are real enough to remind me of people in my own life. She describes their approach to calamity, discord, and happiness; their stoicism, restrained affections and displacement. They engage in the Irish way of fixing interpersonal conflicts by never speaking to that person for the rest of your life. If only that weren't true.

Keane's story never lags, never fails to fascinate. It started slowly, but gathered momentum as the characters become real people, and gradually took over this reader's life. I was genuinely sorry that the book came to an end. This is a masterful and painfully accurate description of family, love and hope. Although limited in particular details, the novel is universal in scope. I recommend it to all.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible debut..., April 5, 2009

By 

Tracy L. (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Walking People (Hardcover)

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Mary Beth Keane has written a remarkable debut novel with THE WALKING PEOPLE. This is a beautifully written story of the Irish immigrant experience, but with a slight twist in that the story begins in 1956 and ends in 2007.

Greta and Johanna Cahill are sisters living in a small seaside cottage in Ballyroan, a small village that at one time consisted of seven families, but know consists of the Cahill family - Big Tom, Lily, Jack, Padriac, Little Tom, Johanna and Greta - and one other neighbor. The closest town is Conch, about four miles away. Life is hard in Ballyroan (there is no electricity) and the Cahill men earn a living by illegally fishing and selling salmon. One day, a young woman named Julia Ward shows up at the Cahill's door. Julia comes from a group of travellers, sometimes known as "Tinkers". These people travel the countryside, never staying in one place. Thus begins a connection between the Cahill's and the Ward's that would last for many years and encompass both Ireland and America.

This is primarily Greta's story. There is nothing unlikable about her. Johanna is probably the least likable character, but at some point in the story, she becomes a periphery character, and you almost forget why she's unlikable. This is also a love story. Love between Michael Ward and Greta, love between Greta and Johanna's daughter, also named Julia whom Greta is raising as her own and love of "home", wherever that is, be it Ireland or America.

Keane has done a wonderful job in portraying life in a small Irish village and life in New York City. Her description's of Michael's work in the water tunnels of New York City is both alarming and gritty. Incredible written detail and beautifully drawn characters made this a pleasure to read.