In present day New York, Majella is having a rough time adjusting to life with her newborn baby believing she is truly going crazy. With no help from her erratic absent mother, she imagines dark thoughts of mayhem, hears strange noises and worries about her even crazier neighbor with baby twins......And, when she stumbles across an old clothbound diary in the attic written by an ancestor (Ginny Doyle), she discovers an 1848 Ireland with heartbreaking tales of famine and loss plus a shocking mur...

Ireland, the potato famine, Ginny will have to go to extraordinary lengths to protect and save her children. Current day, Magilla has just given birth and though she loves her baby daughter she is a bit depressed and feels that she is not the mother she should be. Two story lines seems to be the trend now in fiction and in this case I have to say it worked very well. Both these women were very likable characters, I found myself rooting for them both, wanting good things to happen for them. This

Like many historical novels, this has a dual narrative and I really enjoyed both equally and cared about what happened to both protagonists. I was totally absorbed by the plight of Ginny Doyle who desperately tried to feed her family during the horrendous Irish potato famine of 1846-7, and equally by the daunting struggle faced by Majella in present day NY as she tried to come to terms with her radically altered life after having a baby. The links between the two become apparent by the end of th...

I would definitely give this book four and a half stars. Jeanine Cummins is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I found the story engaging and creative. The author moved effortlessly from the present to the 1840s and the Irish potato famine. The characters were likable and their actions were believable. I didn't want the book to end!

Excellent read. Cummins has a way of dropping words like treasured jewels onto the page. The story itself was intriguing and unusual. My first read of hers but definitely not my last.

In alternating chapters, we follow Ginny Doyle, in Ireland in 1846-7, during the famine and Majella, her great-great-great? granddaughter in current day NYC as each struggles to figure out how to be a good mother, what you should be willing to sacrifice, and what you should not. Ginny, her husband, and three children are trying to survive the potato blight, while continuing to produce grains on their plot of land to pay the rent to their absentee British landlord. Those who couldn't pay were evi...

It was with great regret that I tore myself away from this book to do stuff like, you know, eat and care for my children. It really grabbed me and, after finishing, I spent way too much time googling the Irish potato famine. If Ginny Doyle doesn't move you, nothing will. Very well done novel about motherhood, love, sacrifice, life.

This book took place in Ireland during the famine and in NY during present day. It explored motherhood and surviving hard times. The Ireland story really grabbed me! Ginny's struggles and story of survival was so well done. Majella in NY go on my nerves, I found her whiny and wanted her to get over herself. I do recommend this to others, it certainly won't disappoint.

This book sucked me in at first. Even though I wasn’t particularly enamored of the storyline regarding Majella, the historical plot regarding Ginny Doyle and her children during the Famine in Ireland was quite engaging. And I admit that Cummins can write — at least during the chapters about Ginny.But there was quite a lot that turned me off about this book. For one thing, Majella just isn’t likable. I realize that she is a new mother experiencing some form of postpartum depression, but she also

This book goes back and forth between Majella, a New Yorker who is a first time mom, and her ancestor, Ginny Doyle, who left Ireland for America during the potato famine. Majella finds Ginny's diary in the attic of her childhood home. The book does a really great job of contrasting the one mother's struggles of coping with a newborn and the isolation she feels, with the other mother's terror and panic as the potato crop rots and she worries about how she is going to feed her children. As with he...

3.5 to 4 stars. Dual timeline, one in Ireland 1848, there in the US, present day. The description of the famine and the death and misery it caused were heartbreaking. I was deeply affected by the parting of families when the husband would emigrate in coffin ships (so named because many died en route) in hopes of earning money to send home. I didn’t enjoy the present day narrative or relate to the main character as much. I wish the neighbor with twins had been more fully explored, as I found her

Majella has just become a new mother. She is going through more then just postpartum depression. She is having dreams about her new born daughter being dead. She worries as mental illness does run in her family heritage. She especially worries when she find a diary in the attic from one of her relatives, Ginny. Ginny lives in Ireland. A time when the famine was really bad for families. It was fight or perish. Ginny was willing to do anything to survive. How far would she go?My favorite part of t...

After the birth of her daughter, Emma, first-time mother Majella finds herself feeling extremely strange - almost like she has somehow become separated or disconnected from herself and her family. The usually resilient and self-deprecating young woman suddenly feels isolated and exhausted - feelings which she slowly comes to realize reach far beyond simply being overwhelmed by her recent introduction to new motherhood. Trying to better understand her extraordinary feelings of 'differential other...

"Every family tree has at least one crooked branch." This novel shows the different faces of motherhood in one family. Majella is an overwhelmed new mother dealing with the loss of her identity, upset hormones, and lack of sleep. She finds the diary of her Irish ancestor, Ginny Doyle, who was desperately trying to feed her family during Ireland's Great Hunger in 1847. Ginny had to make some difficult decisions before immigrating from County Mayo to New York City. Majella is trying to understand

This dual-timeline narrative was entertaining in part and cringeworthy in part. I really enjoyed Ginny's story, a suspenseful drama of young motherhood set during the potato famine in Ireland; however, her descendant Majella's modern tale of postpartum depression just didn't draw me in. Ginny's life had true tragedy and she had such resilience, and every step she took in life was realistic and understandable. Majella, on the other hand, wasn't a well fleshed character to me, nor were the support...

It's been a while since a book has grabbed me from the beginning and not let go.Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a fan of alternating timelines or viewpoints, but this book is the exception that proves the rule.It is so well written, with memorable characters, I couldn't put it down. I had laugh-out-loud moments, and then tears in my eyes.Loved this book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I first learned about it by attending a reading by the author at the 2013 Gaithersburg Book Festival. I was attracted to the reading because the topic for the session was "Dual Story Lines" used in literature. In my own writing I've been playing around with such a structure to incorporate pertinent pieces of backstory and I wanted to listen to other authors describe their experiences with using it. In listening to Jeanine Cummins describe her book and her proc...

This book is a page turner! I haven't stayed up past 3 am reading for quite a while, but the emotional depth of the characters, particularly the two mothers, was absolutely gripping. The excellent writing & research by Cummins brings such realism to the story that I almost felt I could talk to the women as if I were in the room with them. I learned so much about the 19th century famine in Ireland that I didn't know before; crop failure alone didn't cause the rampant starvation.It's an incredible...

After giving “American Dirt” one of my few 5 star ratings, and then watching a two part discussion of the book on “Oprah’s Book Club” while the author was being used as a battering ram for LatinX authors, I knew that I was going to read more of her books.Jeanine Cummins, you’ve strummed my heartstrings! I have to believe that this author writes with deep emotion. I am yet to do some Googling to learn more about the Irish potato famine of the 1800’s, but I’m certain that Ms Cummins conducted a lo...

An Irish family during the potato famine & a modern day new mother in NYC. Genius handling of the ending of the Irish family story. Wonky end to NYC story IMO.