Kate Kerrigan

Ellie Flaherty is a young woman living in a small town in Ireland who, after a series of small inconveniences, has just married her childhood sweetheart, John. But when John is seriously injured fighting in the Irish resistance against England, his injuries force Ellie to take some drastic measures. Due to their financial insolvency, there's no money for the operation that John needs to fully recover. Soon Ellie finds herself on a ship to America to begin working as a ladies' maid, with show more plans to send her pay home to John for his needs. But America is nothing like what Ellie had been expecting, and soon she's caught up in its siren song. Leapfrogging out of her job as a maid and on to bigger and better things, Ellie reinvents herself as a young cosmopolitan woman about the city and finds the freedom and elegance she never had in Ireland. Years pass when an unexpected event threatens to send her home to her life back on the farm, but Ellie isn't sure she's ready to leave behind the land of opportunity for a small backwater, despite the fact that she loves John deeply. In this country mouse/city mouse tale, Kate Kerrigan shares the story of a woman whose loyalties and heart are torn in two opposing directions, and the choices she must make to finally bring everything together.

Having recently read Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, I was eager to read another Irish immigrant story to see how the two tales were similar and how they differed. Generally, I enjoy these types of stories and find that I always learn a lot about history when I indulge myself with one of them. One of the key differences in this story from Brooklyn was its historical focus on the struggles Ireland had with England to win the freedom of their country. Though the plot wasn’t totally centered around this conflict, there were a few pertinent pieces that hinged on this plot element, and through John’s injury, Ellie gains the impetus to travel to America, where the bulk of this story really takes place.

Ellie was a wonderful character, and very human. Though she wasn’t overly selfish, she was pragmatic about how much easier life was for her in America. She was sensitive to her family back home and knew that they also would fare better in America, but she never became pushy and overbearing with them. Ellie also had the kind of attitude that lent itself to the enjoyment of her new surroundings without ever becoming frivolous. The crux of her conundrum came when she discovered that she simply could not lead two very different lives, and that the life she wanted for herself might not be the life she had to settle for. This was a very hard choice for her to make, and her reactions and behavior upon making it were not only realistic, but potent. Though Ellie found a way to navigate America and make her situation work for her, in reality, her heart was at odds with itself over her separation from John. The situation was even more complex because Ellie and John had been in love since their childhood, and John’s absence left a huge hole in Ellie’s life.

Ellie’s time in America was drawn with large strokes, and instead of minute detail, there was more of an overall encompassing of the large period of time she spent away from Ireland. I particularly enjoyed her first few American discoveries, such as indoor plumbing, telephones and electricity. What was interesting is that Kerrigan never seemed to mention that life in Ireland lacked all of these benefit but instead filled in that gap by showing Ellie’s first reactions to these strange accouterments of life in the States. Her gradual immersion into an American lifestyle changed her in ways that made it hard for her to ever be that humble girl that left the farm, but it didn’t taint her in ways that made it impossible for her to ever return. Most of the time I was reading, it was like looking through the eyes of a foreign stranger who was constantly surprised and delighted by the things that most Americans take for granted.

I must say a lot of this book surprised me, because it’s not your typical immigrant tale. Sometimes I find that these stories have set patterns that they never stray away from. This tale wasn’t like that. People didn’t do the things that you expected them to do, and many of the issues were not handled in the way I had expected them to be. I enjoyed this because it made for a rather unpredictable and organic feeling story that intrigued me. Though I had been expecting the last third of the book to unravel in a very orderly and predictable way, Kerrigan mixed it up for her readers and gave them something other than the usual to chew on. From top to tail it was a bittersweet story, and it was such a pleasant read that I had a hard time putting it down.

Though there are other books out there that are similar to this one, I believe that Kerrigan’s offering is a cut above due to the advanced character creation and narrative. Each section of this story seemed to build upon the last, creating a brilliant melange of a tale that readers who enjoy immigrant stories will love. It was a gentle tale, told with style, and I found that as I turned the last page, I wished I could continue on the journey with Ellie. I’m hopeful that the next time Kate Kerrigan plys her pen, she creates a heroine as delicious as Ellie Flaherty. show less

Most immigration stories discuss the reasons one leaves a homeland for a foreign country, the hardships endured along the way and eventually some form of resolution of life in the new country. Everything about Ellis Island breaks the mold of immigration novels and forges its own path. Ultimately, the story is much richer for it.

The first half of the novel follows the traditional story-telling format. Girl meets boy, girl marries boy. The happily-ever-after, however, does not come, as both show more John and Ellie are swept up in the Irish revolution. Hardship follows, as one knows it must. Interestingly, Ellie's move to New York from Ireland is never meant to be permanent, and this is where the traditional story shifts into something unique. For, she is going to earn money for her husband, rather than being the one left behind waiting to be send for later. She is the one to blaze the pioneer trail for her family, leaving all that is familiar for the unknown all because of the love she holds for John and the belief she has in their marriage. Her growing self-awareness and strength are predictable, as she lands in New York harbor during the roaring Twenties - that golden era when women were grabbing new freedoms and rights, when the spirit was one of adventure, and everyone just wanted to have fun. Ellie truly does come into her own in New York, blossoming and embracing the new culture as any modern woman is wont to do.

What gives Ellis Island its power is the continuing fidelity and love Ellie has towards her husband, even after years of separation. When forced to make a decision between her new-found freedoms and luxuries and her husband, Ellie's decision is as surprising as it is rare. Love and sticking by that love for richer and for poorer tends to be the vows spoken but not necessarily reality. One reads about all of the immigrants who came to America for a better life but very rarely do we get a glimpse of those who opted to go back across the ocean. How does the hustle and bustle of the United States, especially during the 1920s change a person? Can one ever truly go back?

Ireland and New York in the 1920s are revealed in great detail, making the contrasts between the two worlds more transparent. The reader can feel the tension as ancient antagonisms against the British rule sparks the revolution and call for home rule. S/he can sense the pulse of energy that radiates from New York City, the clicking and clacking of heels on the sidewalks, the noise of the crowd. Ms. Kerrigan presents the attitudes, opinions, customs, and other minutiae of the day with no fuss or embellishments. Ellis Island truly is a glimpse back into the past towards a long-ago decade where everything was ripe with possibilities.

My only fault with the novel is its title. Ellis Island is so misleading. Only two brief scenes actually take place on Ellis Island, as this is not a novel about an immigrant but about a woman and her journey who just happens to go through Ellis Island on one of her stops along the way. Other than that, Ellis Island is an engaging glimpse of the past. Ellie is a character who quickly generates sympathy with the reader, and her journey of self-discovery is as pleasurable as it is fascinating from a historical perspective. An Irish village and New York City in the 1920s really were two different worlds, and her ability to maneuver through the two makes for a great story and excellent history lesson.

Thank you to Mary Sasso from Harper Perennial for my review copy! show less

The only child of a devout Catholic father who nonetheless failed the priesthood and a mother so terribly wounded by a community that still judges her for her family's past sins that the family hardly mixes with their neighbors, young Ellie Flaherty's childhood is a drab and loveless affair. It's no wonder, then, that when Ellie's mother lets her out, as an act of charity, to play with John Hogan whose parents have both passed away from TB, that she quickly falls in love with his easy smile show more and his awe at the nature that surrounds their village in Ireland. The pair are best friends through their school days, but when John leaves for Dublin to apprentice with a carpenter, Ellie wonders if she's lost him for good, but she need not worry, for when they meet again their love is stronger than ever, and soon the pair are married.

Married life isn't easy in their rural Irish home during the Irish rebellion, and John, a soldier for the Irish Republican Army, is severely wounded. The only way John will walk again is with an expensive operation, and Ellie knows the only way to afford it will be for her to join a friend working as a lady's maid in America. Soon enough, Ellie is being seduced by the promise, independence, and society of life as a young woman in New York City during the Roaring 20s. Will Ellie be able to return to a life of poverty in Ireland with her one true love, or will the siren call of the city of dreams lure her into a new life altogether?

Ellis Island is Ellie's story, and hers alone. Though the pages of Ellis Island are full of characters, her Irish family, her husband John, her rich employer Isobel Adams, and her friends from her typing job, not to mention the charming Charles Irvington who would woo her given the chance, Ellie's character is the only one that truly jumps off the page. The rest, while fleshed out enough, merely give structure to Ellie's journey, not just from Ireland to America, but from thoughtless, selfish childhood to accepting, understanding adulthood. Kerrigan's Ireland and 1920s New York City are almost like characters themselves, and Kerrigan draws out the wonder and the fast pace of a city on the rise just as well as she pictures for us the quaint, if sometimes desperately poor, Irish countryside. The contrasts between Ellie's two lives are sharp, but Kerrigan ultimately manages to show the great value in both of them.

Ellis Island is littered with the sort of coincidences that might make the story seem contrived but for the impression that Ellie's story is so human and turns out the way so many human stories do. Ellie's story reveals a life peppered with joys and haunted by regrets and thoughts of what might have been. Ellie's coming of age mirrors so many in that we come to understand the lives around us, and we don't just "settle" but learn to love even the small joys that our lives have to offer us. Ellis Island was a little lighter fare than perhaps I was expecting but is ultimately an enjoyable historical love story that brings the 1920s to life and gives us a memorable character finding herself during a captivating time in history. show less

A few years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Kate Kerrigan, the charming Irish author of Ellis Island, a novel about a young Irish woman who came to America to earn money to pay for an operation her husband back in Ireland desperately needed after an injury.

Set in the 1920s, Ellie comes to New York to work first as a maid, and then learns how to be a secretary. She falls in love with a wealthy businessman and when it comes time to go home to Ireland, she is torn.

City of Hope opens in the show more 1930s back in Ireland, on the farm where Ellie lives with her husband John. John loves his life as a farmer, but Ellie wants more. She opened a shop near the farm to sell grocery items and products grown on the farm. She started a secretarial school and a beauty salon. Ellie was quite the businesswoman and always looking for ways to expand, much to John's consternation.

When John dies unexpectedly, Ellie is devastated. She runs away, back to New York, to try and pick up the pieces of her life. A chance meeting with a mother and her children, homeless and living in Central Park, convinced her to try and do something to help them.

She buys a home that has been foreclosed on and moves this family in, along with Bridie, an older woman who worked with her as a maid many years ago. They work to rebuild the house, and find that there are many men with construction skills looking for work in the Great Depression.

Ellie finds a new mission for her life- refurbishing homes and giving people a chance to rebuild their lives. She hopes that all of this will keep her from missing John. She meets many new people, and puts her talents to good use. She starts a cooperative, where the women open a cafe and store, selling their prepared food to the wealthy women in the neighborhood.

Then people comes back into her life unexpectedly: her old friend Sheila and a man from her past. Ellie must face up to her past and decide what path she is going to take.

I have to admit that at times I did not understand Ellie's actions. She seems to run away from her problems rather than face them. After John's death, she runs to New York and hides out, leaving John's mother all alone. At the end of the novel she makes a decision that I find baffling. Although I would make different decisions, Kerrigan skillfully creates such an intriguing character that I found myself rooting for her even as I found her maddening.

I love books that take me into a completely new world, and City of Hope does just that. I did not realize that there were Hooverville tent cities in Central Park during the Depression. Kerrigan clearly did a great deal of research to bring this interesting period of time in New York City to such vivid life.

The characters are so well drawn, and I found that if I closed my eyes, I could picture the street in Upper Manhattan where Ellie created new lives for so many people. The problems that Ellie's friends faced during the Great Depression resonated with the problems that face many people today- the loss of jobs and their homes, forcing their families out into the streets. I liked the parallel there.

My favorite line in the book is one from Ellie during John's funeral.
"I shut down. I did not have the room to absorb all their grief, when I could not accommodate my own."

That just hit such a visceral note for me.

If you have read Ellis Island, City of Hope is a must read. Even if you haven't read Ellis Island, City of Hope stands on its own, a novel about grief and new beginnings, and a wonderful piece of historical fiction set during the Great Depression in New York City. (And if you are a fan of Downton Abbey, Bridie reminds me so much of Mrs. Patmore!) show less