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Ellis Island |  | Author: Kate Kerrigan
Publisher: Pan
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy New: £2.50
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New (26) Used (7) from £1.82
Seller: misunderstoodx5
Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 243
Media: Paperback
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 0330507524
EAN: 9780330507523
ASIN: 0330507524
Publication Date: June 18, 2010
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Rural Irish girl Ellie loves living in New York, working as a lady's maid for a wealthy socialite. She tries to persuade her husband, John, to join her but he is embroiled in his affairs in Ireland, and caught up in the civil war. Nevertheless Ellie is extremely happy and fully embraces her sophisticated new life.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 26
 great story, full of contrasts July 20, 2010
love reading (Scotland)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
This is an excellent read and, I believe, can be read on two levels; firstly, as a romantic historical saga. It works really well in this way although I found it difficult to deal with Ellie's character as she seemed quite spoiled. On a deeper level, however, the novel looks at issues about materialism and the pull of 'things'and on this level I could relate to her bitterness and her often indecision. I think there was a huge moral lesson in this book and a real understanding of what makes for lasting happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction.
The history was well depicted explaining well the Irish cause.
The characters were vividly drawn and Ellie and her mother were very interesting and three-dimensional. This made them very believable.
The description was powerful and there was some stunning imagery when she was portraying the American countryside and this was very compelling when juxtaposed with the land in Ireland; both metaphors depicting the heart of each place.
My only criticism is the way Charles kept miraculously and coincidentally appearing and that didn't seem to be too credible to me.
This is a wonderful and intelligent book and a very enjoyable read. I thoroughly recommend this.
ONE OF IRELAND'S BEST WRITERS February 8, 2010
Ms Noelle Harrison
40 out of 43 found this review helpful
As in all Kate Kerrigan's novels, this is a finely crafted story, gripping from start to finish. It covers a fascinating period of Ireland's history and brings home the extreme conditions and poverty that people were living in. It is well contrasted with the section of the book set in New York in the twenties and this new exciting world. The characters are all empathic and fully rounded, and Ellie, the heroine, is a particularly strong character. I thought the ending was very clever, you, as the reader, identified with the conflict, and frustrations Ellie was experiencing. Although fiesty and adventurous she was also a woman of her time. It is in the end a book about the endurance of love between two people. I am looking forward to the sequel.
Must Buy June 21, 2010
aidyk
23 out of 25 found this review helpful
I loved Ellis Island, my own grandmother emigrated around the same time and this book just made her experiences come to life for me, my mother and sisters, it is so real, so poignant and so beautifully written. I have read all of Kate Kerrigans books and passed them on to others and they just keep getting better. I highly reccommend this book!
gripping June 23, 2010
Clara (london)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Throughly enjoyed this book and found it to be a great summer read. "Recipes For a Perfect Marraige" was my favourite book by Kate Kerrigan but I think "Ellis Island" is her best story so far. I totally lost myself in it and couldnt put it down - always a sign of a good book. Good to be reminded of how life was for us women in Ireland all those years ago. If you are going to buy one book this year make it this one as you wont be disappointed.
Absorbing, charming tale June 29, 2010
Denise4891
19 out of 22 found this review helpful
Ellis Island tells the story of Ellie Flaherty, who lives with her repressed, devoutly religious parents in a small Irish town. Her only pleasures in life are the friends she makes at convent school and her burgeoning relationship with her childhood friend, John Hogan. After they marry and John is shot whilst serving with the IRA, Ellie desperately needs to earn money to pay for his treatment so she takes up the offer of a job in New York, working as a maid with her flighty school friend Sheila.
Ellie is a real `innocent abroad' when she arrives in America, but she soon falls for the charms of Sheila and their party-loving mistress and her socialite friends, whilst still retaining her convent-school morality and common sense. She does, however, allow herself to become gradually seduced by the glamorous lifestyle of 1920s New York, and starts to question the `perfect' life she left behind in Ireland.
When her father becomes seriously ill she is called back to Ireland, and I was really drawn into Ellie's dilemma at the end of the book as the reader is left guessing almost up to the last page as to whether she will return to her independent life in America or play the role of the dutiful wife in Ireland.
This is a lovely story, very atmospheric and full of Irish charm. I haven't been drawn to any of Kate Kerrigan's books before, but on the strength of this one I might just give them a go (although one of the quotes on the cover does say that this one "breaks from the traditional mould"). Based on the storyline, it's very tempting (but unfair) to compare Ellis Island to Colm Toibin's Brooklyn - young Irish girl leaves her repressed homelife behind for the bright lights of New York, only to be called home in the wake of a family tragedy etc. Ellis Island is a lighter read but by no means insubstantial and both settings - rural Ireland and bustling 1920s New York - are beautifully drawn and brimming with period atmosphere.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 26
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