When the Star of the Sea sets sail in the winter of 1847, her steerage is full of the desperate. These immigrants have left behind their Irish home because all that’s left on that green isle is starvation and death. But the journey will be swept with countless unknowns and this story takes us day by day of the crossing as well as into the history of the ship’s passengers and how their lives have intertwined whether they know it or not. There are hints of a murder and for-certain unfaithfulness, there are secrets and hidden identities, lost fortunes, wretched poverty and the kind of hatred that would compel a man to set aside his humanity to right a grievous wrong. Ireland’s sons and daughters may have left her land behind - but she can’t be carved out of the heart so easily.
I loved the narrative setup of this novel - it’s written like a nonfiction compilation of investigative serial pieces, with quotes and pictures as well as commentary by the “author” who was also present for many of the events. While there are really very few characters who aren’t broken in one way or another, I was totally all in with what would happen on the Star of the Sea. The deprivation laid bare, the very real suffering of the Irish people under English rule and the horror of the blight - it’s drawn with a stark compassion. There are minutes of redemption, glimpses of comeuppance, but mostly it is just humans making choices in a world that was falling apart. I had to read with a pen, the writing was so good. A harsh but beautifully portrayed look at the coffin ship journey as experienced by both those huddled in the hold as well as the swanky in first class. A hard but really good read.
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