The Crooked Branch

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Nice review. I enjoyed this book as well even though I liked Ginny’s story better than Majella’s. 🙂 Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Victorian Studies Association of Western Canada, Winnipeg, April 22, 2016 The friendship that evolves between Ginny and Seán is a source of strength and comfort to her. He is integral in saving her children. Does their friendship ever feel improper or disloyal, given Ginny’s marital status? When they first meet at Springhill House, are Seán’s flirtations harmless, or does he really have romantic motives toward Ginny? Does Ginny respond to his flirtation appropriately? DignidadLiteraria calls meeting with 'American Dirt' publisher 'a victory' ". NBC News . Retrieved 2020-10-27.

The Crooked Branch - Jeanine Cummins - Google Books The Crooked Branch - Jeanine Cummins - Google Books

Like many historical novels, this has a dual narrative and I really enjoyed both equally and cared about what happened to both protagonists. I received an offer to read and review this book and am really looking forward to it -especially after reading your review! Alice Spring is decidedly eccentric, but is she crazy? Are her peculiarities the product of her situation in life (her childless abandonment by her husband, her sheltered detachment from the real world), or are those peculiarities just symptoms of her preexisting insanity? From Jeanine Cummins, the national bestselling author of American Dirt and A Rip in Heaven, comes The Crooked Branch--the deeply moving story of two mothers from two very different times.The staff and residents at Springhill House live largely beyond the reach of the famine and, while some experience occasional glimmers of guilt, they mostly carry on as if everything is normal. Is this kind of “willful amnesia” immoral? What, if anything, could they do to help influence the events around them? What could any of the staff at Springhill do to save some of the starving population beyond the gate? What about Murdoch? Or Alice Spring? What is their moral imperative, and how does it differ from the people who work for them? Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson (29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to simply as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of society, including the very poor, and as such are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature.

The Crooked Branch by Jeanine Cummins: 9780451239242

The Crooked Branch follows two desperate mothers struggling through vastly different hardships, one in present-day Queens and the other in Ireland in 1846-47 during the Great Hunger, also known as the potato famine. Majella’s present-day story centers on her inability to adapt to motherhood and her fears about her mental health. She feels like she failed baby Emma from the beginning because she had a c-section after a long and difficult labor. She loves her daughter, but worries that she’ll never be the mom she dreamed of being, feels that she’s lost the person she was in her life before, and thinks she’s going crazy. She doesn’t think it’s postpartum depression; she thinks being a bad mother has been passed down through the generations and is in her genes — and the dreams, the blow-ups, and the inappropriate comments she can’t help making must prove it. 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? The Crooked Branch is a story of a family, of mothers, of women. It’s a story of grief and loss. It’s a story of hope and sacrifice. It’s a story of the costliness of love. Sometimes it will take your life. Sometimes it will take your heart. Sometimes it will take others to enable you to survive.

Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn, 1810-1865

a b c McCauley, Mary Carole (2013-03-18). "Gaithersburg author writes 'The Crooked Branch' about the Irish potato famine". The Baltimore Sun. Exploring the effect of a secret from the past on a woman who is truly on the edge—of motherhood, of her future, of sanity, of happiness—Jeanine Cummins has written a story that truly resonates. Insightful, suspenseful, and sometimes bitingly funny, with characters the reader will think about for weeks, this bittersweet novel is emotional and immensely satisfying.”—Award-winning author Simone St. James With the famine upon her, Ginny Doyle fled from Ireland to America, but not all of her family made it. What happened during those harrowing years, and why does Ginny call herself a killer? Is Majella genetically fated to be a bad mother, despite the fierce tenderness she feels for her baby? How are Jade and Majella similar? In what ways are they different? Does either of these women represent a typical, new-mother experience, or are they both somewhere beyond the conventional ideas of what it’s like to become a mother for the first time? Are those traditional concepts of new motherhood still changing, or have they become static? Armus, Teo (January 23, 2020). " 'American Dirt' is a novel about Mexicans by a writer who isn't. For some, that's a problem". The Washington Post . Retrieved January 25, 2020.

Wikipedia Lois the Witch - Wikipedia

Ein typisches, viktorianisches morality tale. Wer seine Kinder zu sehr verwöhnt, muss damit rechnen, dass sie auf die schiefe Bahn geraten. Niemand sollte danach streben, sich über seinen Stand zu erheben. Vorhersehbar, irgendwie ein wenig an den Haaren herbeigezogen, denn wirklich klar wird nie gemacht, warum Benjamin so missraten konnte, auf einem abgelegenen Bauernhof. Möglicherweise führte zu viele Bildung über seinen Stand hinaus zu dieser charakterlichen Missbildung. Leo loves Majella, and he tries to be empathetic, but there are moments when he just doesn’t understand what his wife is going through. Is he a supportive husband? How could he be better, more helpful? Is Majella right to get angry when he uses the word “babysitting” to describe staying home with their daughter, or does she overreact? Determined to uncover the truth of her heritage and her own identity, Majella sets out to explore Ginny’s past—and discovers surprising truths about her family and ultimately, herself.Asmelash, Leah (2020-01-30). "The author tour for the controversial book 'American Dirt' has been canceled over safety concerns". CNN . Retrieved 2021-01-03. Wonderful review, Anna! This almost sounds like required reading for mothers. Of course, this story is unique, but I’m certain mothers could relate to the intense emotions of motherhood. Cummins, Jeanine (2018-06-19). "Opinion | 'If It Could Happen to Them, Why Can't It Happen to Us?' ". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-12-12.