By:Mary Beth Keane
A wonderful book about Irish immigrants in the 1950s, long after the terrible starvation of the famine years but still a time when grinding poverty drove country people to leave family and home. The title is derived from the Irish name for tinkers or gypsies, who were considered thieves and liars and treated as outcasts. Yet even settled people had no electricity, telephone or any of the modern "conveniences" Americans already took for granted. Like most others before them, Greta, Johanna and Michael never stop thinking of Ireland as home, but nor do they ever return. They succeed in adapting to life in America, tho a deep secret isolates them from both neighbors and distant relatives. Wherever your ancestors came from, you'll enjoy this skillful portrayal of the post-War period by an extremely talented young writer. Review by Anne. (Fiction) 08/24/09
