Would you classify the ending as happy or sad? Did the novel conclude the way you expected it to?Ħ. Noah makes paper swans for Aisling swans famously mate for life origami is about making different versions from the same blank canvas birds migrate and, ultimately, return home. The title Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan has both literal and metaphorical resonances within the novel. Of the three narrative strands/settings, which was your favourite (or least favourite) and why?Ĥ. Given the themes of diaspora, immigration, xenophobia and belonging, what parallels did you find between Nine Folds and the current global situation?ģ. Does anyone in the group have any Irish or Jewish heritage? Do you think that altered the way you appreciated the novel?Ģ. Gilligan weaves a mesmerizing blend of plot and character while exploring themes of assimilation and displacement, suggesting what binds us all is storytelling.”- Publishers Weekly, Starred Reviewġ. All three stories―more intertwined than any of the participants know―are gripping, nuanced, and clever, occupying a rich and hazy space between realism and metaphor.”- Kirkus Review, Starred Review “In a boldly ambitious novel of family and belonging, Gilligan chronicles the history of Jewish immigrants in Ireland by weaving together three interconnected stories spanning more than a century. Gilligan weaves history into the present moment with assurance and style. Reminiscent of Tea Obreht, Nicole Krauss, and Maggie O’Farrell, Gilligan captures the pulse of one of Ireland’s untold stories, and asks us to consider the age-old dictum that the past is not dead, it is not even past. A wonderful new novel from a writer to look out for.”- Colum McCann “With Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, Ruth Gilligan strikes out into ambitious literary territory. Ruth Gilligan’s beautiful and heartbreaking Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan explores the question of just how far we will go to understand who we really are, and to feel at home in the world. These three arcs, which span generations and intertwine in revelatory ways, come together to tell the haunting story of Ireland’s all-but-forgotten Jewish community. And in present-day London, an Irish journalist is forced to confront her conflicting notions of identity and family when her Jewish boyfriend asks her to make a true leap of faith. In 1958, a mute Jewish boy locked away in a mental institution outside of Dublin forms an unlikely friendship with a man consumed by the story of the love he lost nearly two decades earlier. A heartbreaking portrait of what it means to belong, and how storytelling can redeem us all.Īt the start of the twentieth century, a young girl and her family emigrate from Lithuania in search of a better life in America, only to land on the Emerald Isle instead. Three intertwining voices span the twentieth century to tell the unknown story of the Jews in Ireland.
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