Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan
by Ruth Gilligan
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Pub Date Jan 24 2017 | Archive Date Dec 31 2016
Description
A Note From the Publisher
Paperback Original. LibraryReads nominations are due 11/20 and IndieNext nominations are due 11/4.
Advance Praise
“Reading Ruth Gilligan’s Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, I thought of Colum McCann’s Zoli—from which the book fittingly takes its epigraph—and of Nicole Krauss’s The History of Love; like those novels, it’s a rich and layered story of the complications, the mistakes, and the heartbreaks of which a human life is made. But I thought mostly about Gilligan’s characters—Ruth, Shem, and Aisling—and of the fascinating untold story—the story of Jews in twentieth-century Ireland--given vivid expression by their interweaving narratives. I haven’t read anything like it, and I was delighted to meet with their voices: voices that are so real—sometimes funny, sometimes frustrating, sometimes devastated—and that linger in the little streets imagined by the novel long after the story has been told.” - Belinda McKeon, author of TENDER
“The most famous literary Irishman of all time was a Jew, yet the stories of his community have been seldom told. Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan blooms in that silence, with grace, confidence, and vividness. I loved this beautifully written and elegantly managed novel and was sorry when it ended.” - Joseph O’Connor, author of THE THRILL OF IT ALL
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781941040492 |
| PRICE | $15.95 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Elizabeth V, Librarian
Ruth Gilligan's surprising, complex and haunting novel, Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, explores issues of identity and love through the lives of three characters living in Ireland at different times, whose lives touch one another's through coincidences that are ultimately revealed. Central to each of the three alternating stories are themes of Jewish culture and teachings and the intersection of Jewish and Irish identity. The story begins in 1901 aboard a ship about to deliver a Lithuanian-Jewish family to what they anticipate is America but turns out to be Ireland. How young Ruth makes a life for herself in this unexpected milieu intertwines with the story of Shem, a young Jewish man who lost his voice at the most crucial of moments, and that of Aisling, Irish Catholic girl who faces a decision that will determine her future. In lyrical language, the author paints a picture of Ireland's Jewish community and the immigrant experience. Intermarriage, antisemitism, WWII in "neutral" Ireland, and Judaism's ethical teachings are other major elements in the story. Spanning over a century, these three seemingly disconnected stories come together in a way that, though perhaps a bit of a stretch, is ultimately satisfying by the end of the book.
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Librarian 253116
The author tells a compelling story about the fate and circumstances of the lives of Jews in Ireland in the 20th century. The lives of the 3 individuals are both sad and poignant. The plot is complex but tells a historical story, which I suspect, is not well known. She examines the meanings of identity and self-worth.
Readers who liked this book also liked:
Jodi Picoult; Jennifer Finney Boylan
General Fiction (Adult), Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction
