Ginny turns in circles, looking for any trace of life, a single green leaf, a purple blossom, a breath of prayer. But there is nothing, only the stench of death now, rising up from the soil, clinging to the thick air like a fetid warning. Everything, everything is rot.
(from The Crooked Branch, page 3)
The Crooked Branch follows two desperate mothers struggling through vastly different hardships, one in present-day Queens and the other in Ireland in 1846-47 during the Great Hunger, also known as the potato famine. Majella’s present-day story centers on her inability to adapt to motherhood and her fears about her mental health. She feels like she failed baby Emma from the beginning because she had a c-section after a long and difficult labor. She loves her daughter, but worries that she’ll never be the mom she dreamed of being, feels that she’s lost the person she was in her life before, and thinks she’s going crazy. She doesn’t think it’s postpartum depression; she thinks being a bad mother has been passed down through the generations and is in her genes — and the dreams, the blow-ups, and the inappropriate comments she can’t help making must prove it.
Majella’s relationship with her own mother is hardly a model one. Her mother is so far removed from anything that’s real, rambling on and on about random things and never stopping to listen to her daughter, who is falling apart at the seams. When Majella finds a diary written by an ancestor who survived the famine in Ireland, there’s one passage that makes her believe she is genetically programmed to fail at motherhood.
Back in 1846, Ginny Doyle is living a happy existence with her husband, Raymond, and their brood, Maire, Michael, Maggie, and Poppy, when the blight suddenly descends upon their farm and ruins their potato crop. With all the other crops and farm animals — aside from a few hens and the cabbages and turnips Ginny grows in her own garden — needed to pay rent to their English landlord, those potatoes were all the family had for themselves until the next harvest.
It’s not long before the blight leads to mass evictions and widespread hunger. Parents waste away and watch their children do the same. Neighbors steal from one another. The “famine fever” spreads. The Doyles are better off than many of their neighbors, but still, Raymond thinks their only hope is for him to set sail for New York and stay with his brother while he gets a job and sends money home to his family. When months go by with no word and no money and their food runs out, Ginny is forced to take matters into her own hands and make an impossible decision in order to keep her children alive.
The Crooked Branch is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. Normally when I read a novel that weaves together the past and the present, I find myself drawn to the historical story and think the present-day story is just so-so. But this time around, I was equally captivated. Majella’s first-person narrative was so honest and even funny. It brought me back to when I was a new mom, and at times, it felt like I was reading about my own life. Ginny’s story (told in the third-person) was so heartbreaking, but her strength, determination, and her fierce love for her children were admirable. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to live during the famine, and Cummins does an excellent job portraying the fear, helplessness, and desperation of the Irish people. Majella’s and Ginny’s stories alternate by chapter, so just when you think your heart is about to burst, there’s an injection of humor and snarkiness that makes the depressing scenes more manageable.
The Crooked Branch is a story with motherhood at its core, how parenting comes with its ups and downs, no matter the time or place. Majella’s problems may seem insignificant in comparison to Ginny’s, but her fears and inner turmoil are authentic. Cummins paints a picture of two women willing to do anything to protect their children and addresses the issue of heritage and one’s identity after becoming a mother. It’s a tale of mothers and daughters — Majella and the mother she feels she never knew, and Ginny and Maire, who was forced to grow up too soon. Cummins’ prose flows so beautifully that it’s easy to get lost in the story and breeze through a whole chunk of pages without even realizing it. The connections between the past and the present are satisfying, and the characters are so fascinating that I didn’t want the novel to end.
Disclosure: I received The Crooked Branch from NAL for review.
© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Anna: I’m halfway through this book and am upset when “life” gets in the way and I have to put it down. I can’t wait to find out what happens to each of these mothers, but I’m also torn because I want to savor the words–Cummins writes with such emotion and brings in all of the senses. Her previous novel, “The Outside Boy” is one of my all-time favorites books (in case you’re looking for another title as part of your Ireland Reading Challenge.) Thanks for a great review–no spoilers–just more incentive to keep reading! Cheers! BCC
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I can’t wait to see what you think of this one, and I’ll definitely keep The Outside Boy in mind.
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I have heard wonderful things about this book. I think I need to add it to my wish list too.
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I hope you get a chance to read it!
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This sounds like a book I should pick up! And looks like there might be potential for two books for the Ireland Challenge with this author.
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Yes, I think you’ll really like this one…or at least I hope you will. 😉
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Nice review. I enjoyed this book as well even though I liked Ginny’s story better than Majella’s. 🙂
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
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Ginny’s story grabbed me from the start, but I could identify with Majella so it made her story compelling too.
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I just heard about this book, and it sounds marvelous. The premise is great, and I like the double narrative approach–weaving two stories and one family together, and, of course, the age-old dilemma regarding how to be a good mother and a good daughter.
Great review–glad to hear you liked it so well. It’s going on my reading list.
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That really is a timeless and universal story line. I hope you get a chance to read it.
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Whoa! Best you’ve read so far this year? I’m definitely intrigued! This sounds like it would be right down my alley!
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Not *the* best yet, but one of them for sure!
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This is the first review I read of this book and now I’m intrigued. What happens to both of these women? How do they come to terms with their situations? This one is going on my TBR list for sure. Thanks for the great review!
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I’m glad I made you curious, and I hope you love it as much as I did.
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I like the struggling mother aspect and how it goes back and forth between settings. I sometimes think I am struggling as a mother but in totally different was than these women here.
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I think all mothers struggle at some point. I think that makes this book so compelling.
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Wonderful review, Anna! This almost sounds like required reading for mothers. Of course, this story is unique, but I’m certain mothers could relate to the intense emotions of motherhood.
(P.S. Have a happy St. Patrick’s Day!)
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Thanks, Suko!
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<I am always interested in a best so far this year book 😀
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One of the best…but who knows? When I make my list at the end of the year, it could come out on top. 😉
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One of your favorites of the year? This sounds fantastic!
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Yes, I’m still thinking about it now!
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This sounds like one I need to read since you loved it so much!
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I hope you love it as much as I did!
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This one is definitely going on the to-read list!
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I was thinking that you’d say that! 😉
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Nicely done review. I like the premise of it — between two different times and settings. Sounds good
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Thank you!
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I received an offer to read and review this book and am really looking forward to it -especially after reading your review!
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Yay! I’ll keep an eye out for your review!
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As a newish mom I can relate to the feelings of failure. Adding this to my list immediately!
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I could remember having some of the same thoughts as Majella when I was a new mom, but I bet I would have enjoyed her story line even more if I’d read it 12 years ago!
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I so often feel the same way that you do about books that blend stories from past and present. I’m glad to see that you’ve found one that makes both stories equally important and read-worthy. Makes the book one I’ll be looking for.
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The last time I felt this way about a past-present story line was reading The Baker’s Daughter by Sarah McCoy. I hope you get a chance to read this one!
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[…] ~ The Crooked Branch by Jeanine Cummins, reviewed by Anna at Diary of an Eccentric […]
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Anna, thanks so much for your links in to Books You Loved. Chers
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Thanks, Carole!
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[…] Zombie Parents Guide (Alice in Wonderland)59. a barmy bookworm (Mrs Dalloway)60. Janie (Ireland)61. Anna @ Diary of an Eccentric (The Crooked Branch)62. Anna @ Diary of an Eccentric (The […]
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[…] The Crooked Branch by Jeanine Cummins […]
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