The book opens with a teaser prologue from 1937 - on Alcatrez Island....."so long as they didn't find the girl."
Well, my curiosity was whetted. What girl? On Alcatrez? Who is talking?
But the answers to those questions require starting at the beginning - in 1919 Dublin when a young orphan named Shan Keagan strikes out for America.
McMorris has crafted another wonderful historical novel in The Edge of Lost, connecting these two seemingly random events in an unexpected fashion. Historically McMorris explores the penal facility on Alcratez Island, the immigrant experience in America, vaudeville, crime and life in New York and more. Thematically, love, loyalty, obligation, family, fate and second chances are explored within these settings.
Shan was a great lead character - the reader is firmly in his camp, hoping for the best. I also found the Capello family and their neighbourhood appealing. McMorris has done her research - the details of prison life and past New York were fascinating.
Kristina McMorris's writing is warm, comfortable and satisfying. Although I found the ending a bit pat and a wee bit far-fetched, it was indeed just right for this story. Historical fiction fans will enjoy this one. Read an excerpt of The Edge of Lost.
You can connect with Kristina McMorris on her website, find her on Facebook, as well as on Twitter.
2 comments:
I'm not big on historical fiction or pat endings but this book still appeals to me for some reason.
What an intriguing review! I'd never heard of this book, but I'm off to add it to my to-read list. I just read "Orphan Train," which also deals a bit with Irish immigrants in the early 1900s and the often rough immigrant experience, and this sounds like it'd be a great read to follow that up with.
Post a Comment