Despite its flaws, the novel may appeal to fans of Frank McCourt and Irish history, as the trials of the Kelly family echo the struggle of the Irish to assimilate while retaining their own heritage. The characters themselves function more as types-greedy landlords, arrogant Englishmen-to further the plot. Though the research is meticulous and the famine horrors are catalogued in great detail, the Kellys' lives in America are presented haphazardly, making it difficult to keep track of the huge cast of characters when decades are skipped seemingly at random. New Island Books, 15.95 (380pp) ISBN 978-1-87 Depicting the special tribulations, mysteries and joys of the convent, Kelly (Home Away from Home) explores the. After losing the harvest for the third time in four years, the Kellys flee to America and settle in Chicago. Then comes the blight, destroying most of their potato crop. For a short time, life, while far from perfect, is sweet. In Bearna, Ireland, in 1839, Honora Keeley falls in love with Michael Kelly after finding him swimming in Galway Bay, and they soon marry despite her father's objections. In this scattered retelling of her own family's struggles during the Great Irish Starvation, Kelly captures the suffering but neglects the inner lives of her thinly drawn characters.
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