Shadow of a Century

I should have re-read Morgan Llewelyn's "1916." I've read it twice and loved it both times. So I thought that in honor of the anniversary of the Rising, I would read something else. Unfortunately, "Shadow of a Century" was a huge disappointment. Given all the 4- and 5-star reviews, I expected better. I felt that the characters were shallow and stereotyped. And frankly, Scarlett, I didn't give a damn about her. She was whiny and self-absorbed. The plot was thinly pieced together. For instance...the whole thing about Boland's Mills was never followed up. Nor does the timeline fit. The characters refer to Rory insulting Mr Grant in the street as a recent event in 1916, but if you read closely, the incident occurred over a year before. And what a slim motive for Mr Grant's actions! In one place early on, it's said that Eileen is born in 1922, but when we actually get to Eileen's birth, it's not 1922 yet. I suspect the author fudged the timeline so that Eileen could be believably alive and functioning well in 2015. And so on. The whole book badly needs an editor. I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room every time one of the characters said "alright." Which they did every couple of screens. Nails on a chalkboard for me. That is NOT a word. The author spends multiple chapters referring to the crazy priest Father Ennio as "Fr" - no period - and then suddenly halfway through the book she spells it out as Father, and then by the end she is referring to him as "Fr" again. (For the record, it should be spelled out.) The grammatical errors abound. I was frequently rolling my eyes and asking myself why I bothered continuing to read...and I'm not sure I know why I stuck with it. I think I saw the potential and was hoping it would get better. It never really did, though, and none of the plot developments were at all surprising or unique. If you are considering "Shadow of a Century," trust me: read "1916" instead.

I enjoyed this book! A cute love story mixed in with the history of Ireland's struggle for independence. As an American who is very proud of the founding of our nation, and someone who comes from the Clan Grant of Scottland (They fought in the Jacobite uprising against the British), I am drawn to the history of all those who have fought for their independence from the British Empire. I have been recently learning more about Ireland's struggle and while this isn't a history book I very much enjoyed it and it gave me more information to do more research on.

<br />Intertwining stories from modern-day America and early 20th-century Dublin, this stunning read delves into one of the most turbulent times in Irish history.<br />Are you looking for a captivating, riveting, and emotional novel that will pull at your heartstrings? <br />I discovered this book on my Kindle and am so happy that I decided to read it. I truly loved this story and I was glued to the book! I look forward to reading more stories by Jean Grainger. <br />5 stars

This was an interesting historical fiction story. I didn't know about the Irish uprising in 1916 so it was fun to learn about that while witnessing the growing friendship in the current day story between Scarlett and Eileen.

If only it had focused on the past and deleted everything present day! The present day was so ridiculous and just took away from the story line (also it felt overly explanatory of how we should view life, parents, etc.) The story of Easter Rising was great and deserved more focus. Some pieces felt truncated and just forced. Still makes me want to read more of the time period…

Scarlett O'Hara (No, not that Scarlett O'Hara) grew up in New York in an abusive home with a brutal alcoholic Irish father and a Southern Belle mother who turned to religion, movies, and obsessing about Hollywood stars to cope with their unhappy life. When the father is killed in an accident, Scarlett's life becomes more stable. Now twenty-something, she recently landed her dream job as a political correspondent with a top New York newspaper--and quickly lost it when a scandal broke, involving her and a married, high profile politician. <br /><br />In the wake of her fall from grace, Scarlett goes back to her former job with her old editor at a much smaller newspaper and is reduced to writing "Human Interest" stories.<br /><br />Eileen Chiarello is a 93 year old robbery victim whose house was ransacked in a string of crimes against elderly people in her Queens neighborhood. She agrees to let Scarlett interview her for a story about her experience. Scarlett finds the elderly lady so sweet and personable and her story so touching that she stays after the interview and and helps to clean up the mess the robbers left. They recover a precious object that had belonged to Eileen's mother and was feared to have been stolen. The two strike up a friendship as Eileen tells its story.<br /><br />Mary Doyle, born out of wedlock around 1900, grew up in a Catholic orphanage where the nuns taught children like her that they were marked by the sin of their parents. Once past infancy, the orphans lived only to work and attend church, friendships were not allowed, and punishments harsh. Like all the others, when Mary became 18, she was told she's no longer the nuns' responsibility and turned out. She found a job as a maid in the household of a kind mistress, Mrs. Grant, whose husband was exactly the opposite. On the bright side, Mary met Eileen O'Dwyer, a maid in a nearby home and the two became fast friends, spending their Sundays off together going for walks, having tea and shopping-a life Mary had never known. Eileen introduced Mary to her brother Rory, and Mary soon discovered that both Eileen and Rory were secretly involved in the Resistance-a movement for Irish independence whose intention was to drive the British out of Ireland and establish home rule. To her surprise, Mrs. Grant and many others both wealthy and poor secretly supported the cause.<br /><br />When Mrs Chiarello is invited to Ireland to present an artifact she owns for the upcoming 100 year anniversary of the Easter Rising, a day of tragedy that nevertheless, led to Ireland's freedom, Scarlett realizes that the elderly Eileen can't possibly go alone. Knowing what the trip means to her friend, she offers to go along. Besides, Scarlett's father was Irish, and though she despised him, it means she IS half Irish thanks to him. <br /><br />The trip proves meaningful and rewarding to them both, as they discover more about Eileen's heritage and her parents, and Scarlett discovers that maybe she CAN overcome the scandal and trust again.

Two time periods - Ireland in the 1910s and present day U.S. The author jumps back and forth telling each story. The first time the story switched back in time, I though it was jarring. Suddenly I was reading about totally different characters, which at the time, had nothing to do with the ones I had read about in the present. Eventually it all comes together, but I felt it took too long and was too repetitious. <br />Scarlett, in the present, finds an elderly woman living alone who'd just been robbed, when she's sent to do a newspaper story about the break-ins. The woman takes Scarlett under her wing and they bond. Maybe I read two or three similar stories like this so I felt like I've read the story line before. I also felt more should have been revealed about Eileen, the older woman, at the beginning so the reader would be invested in the other story- the Irish Uprising. Historically, the author did her research and I learned a lot about that era. Again, getting to the end was slow-going just to find out how all the pieces fit together.

Two stories told in parallel. The modern day story, so-so, but the historical story, wow! Vivid narration of the Easter Rising in Dublin, 1916. Well told! I felt like I was there.

This story definitely held my interest a lot more than I expected it to. The longer I read, the more I was invested in seeing Mary, and Scarlett, to their happy endings, and learning Eileen's connection to the Irish Revolution in the early 20th century. Mary and Rory's love story was poignant and tragic; Eileen's pride in her heritage and dedication to the memory of her parent's sacrifices was moving and heartfelt; and Scarlett's healing process following her career-ending misstep at the outset of the novel. Before I knew it, I was enthralled and didn't want to stop reading!<br /><br />The story starts off as a scandalous story of an up-and-coming political reporter, Scarlett O'Hara, caught in a scandalous affair with a politician known for his family-orientated campaign image. As her career crumbles around her, Scarlett find a friend (and welcome distraction) in the story of an elderly woman named Eileen. Eileen is the daughter of an Irish immigrant with a very direct tie to the 1916 Irish war for independence from British rule.<br /><br />The story then cuts between the story of Scarlett and Eileen healing each other's wounds in 2015/2016 and the story of a young woman named Mary and her role in the Irish revolution. Mary, her best friend Eileen O'Dwyer, Mary's employer Mrs. Grant, and Mrs. Grant's housekeeper Mrs. Kearns the ladies become active and enthusiastic members of Cumann na mBan, or Women's Army, and their participation in the Easter Rising of 1916. During all this, Mary falls in love with Eileen's older brother Rory, a handsome young man with dreams of a free Ireland as well. Mary and Rory's love story is wound in the events of the Revolution.<br />

Shadow of a Century by Jean Grainger<br />This is a story of two Irish women, Mary in Ireland in 1916 and Scarlett in present day New York. The women are connected through a very old woman, Eileen, and a relic of the 1916 Irish Easter Rising. The stories smoothly weave back and forth between the past and present and I was drawn to both the Mary and Scarlett. Mary leaves an orphanage as an 18-year-old and is quickly drawn into the Irish cause and the rebellion against the English occupiers and becomes a participant in the Easter Rising. Mary’s story is one of strength, determination and love in a time of war. Scarlett struggles with her Irish American heritage and her father’s alcoholism and domestic abuse. Eileen provides closure to Mary’s story and a way forward for Scarlett. The characters are complex and read as believable, relatable people. I would have liked for Mary’s story to have a happier ending, but while that would have satisfied my longing for happy endings it wouldn’t have been true to the time. This book gave me plenty to think about when considering my Irish heritage.<br />