A review by kjvelz
Map of Ireland, by Stephanie Grant
4.0
The ending was entirely unsatisfying, because it was not at all what I wanted.
But it was realistic. More than that, it's what would have happened in this imperfect world. Sometimes, the protagonist does not learn her lesson in the course of 197 pages, but she might get a little bit closer to understanding. Just the tiniest bit.
Ann Ahearn is a frustrating protagonist - she is crafted perfectly to represent the racist Irish Catholic of 1970s Boston. As an Irish Catholic Bostonian in the 2010s, I saw so much of myself and my community in Ann, especially our most prominent flaws that are rarely recognized.
Map of Ireland was an excellent exploration of busing and desegregation in the North, where racism was supposedly solved long before Martin Luther King, Jr. Anyone who has lived in Boston knows that's not true. And this book is a testament to what people experienced in the 70s in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement and what many continue to experience in our imperfect community of racists and bigots. More than anything, this book frustrated me, because the character of Ann Ahearn was real. Her actions - though cowardly - were exactly what so many Bostonians would have done and did.
The book was true. In so many ways. And the writing? What golden nuggets there were. And, of course, a queer character? Thank God. I need more of those in my historical fiction.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. It will frustrate you. It will bother you. It will make you want to dive into its pages and explain racism to Ann Ahearn. But if you are white and you are from Boston and you want to know the tiniest sliver of history about our Town and race relations, then this is the book for you. If you like queer historical fiction, then this is for you. If you want to understand the inner-workings of a racist sixteen year old lesbian, then this is for you.
But it was realistic. More than that, it's what would have happened in this imperfect world. Sometimes, the protagonist does not learn her lesson in the course of 197 pages, but she might get a little bit closer to understanding. Just the tiniest bit.
Ann Ahearn is a frustrating protagonist - she is crafted perfectly to represent the racist Irish Catholic of 1970s Boston. As an Irish Catholic Bostonian in the 2010s, I saw so much of myself and my community in Ann, especially our most prominent flaws that are rarely recognized.
Map of Ireland was an excellent exploration of busing and desegregation in the North, where racism was supposedly solved long before Martin Luther King, Jr. Anyone who has lived in Boston knows that's not true. And this book is a testament to what people experienced in the 70s in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement and what many continue to experience in our imperfect community of racists and bigots. More than anything, this book frustrated me, because the character of Ann Ahearn was real. Her actions - though cowardly - were exactly what so many Bostonians would have done and did.
The book was true. In so many ways. And the writing? What golden nuggets there were. And, of course, a queer character? Thank God. I need more of those in my historical fiction.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. It will frustrate you. It will bother you. It will make you want to dive into its pages and explain racism to Ann Ahearn. But if you are white and you are from Boston and you want to know the tiniest sliver of history about our Town and race relations, then this is the book for you. If you like queer historical fiction, then this is for you. If you want to understand the inner-workings of a racist sixteen year old lesbian, then this is for you.