REVIEW: The Girl Who Came Home

The Girl Who Came Home
Author: Hazel Gaynor

The Girl Who Came Home is loosely based on the story of the Addergoole 14.....14 poor Irish from a single village in County Mayo who boarded the Titanic in 1912 to head to a new life in America. They were filled with dreams, hopes and expectations. Sadly, only 3 would survive the sinking of the gigantic ship in the cold, dark Atlantic Ocean.  The names of the 14 passengers, their life stories, the name of the  Irish village and some other facts are changed in the Girl Who Came Home...but the story is obviously built on the true tale of 14 immigrants whose dreams were cut short by an iceberg.

The story jumps back and forth in time from 1912 to 1982. In 1912, Maggie Murphy is 17 years old. Her mother has just died, and her aunt Kathleen travels from America to bring young Maggie home with her. She doesn't want to leave her love, Seamus, but she is drawn to the promise of a life in America and feels a duty to obey her aunt. She hopes Seamus will travel to America later to be with her. She misses him terribly while on board Titanic. The ship is massive and filled with more luxuries than the 14 hopeful Irish villagers have seen in their lives. They laugh, dance and joke about all the rich food...happy and delighted. Then late one night there is a slight bump and the engines go still. The night of horror has begun. In 1982, an 87-year old Maggie tells the story of that night to her great-granddaughter Grace. Grace needs to write a feature story for a Chicago newspaper and her great-grandmother decides it's time to tell someone her story. She has refused to talk about Titanic for decades, still feeling guilt that she survived and so many others died. In the attic there is a small suitcase that she carried with her the night of the sinking. She shares its contents with Grace, and the story about her memories of her life in Ireland, the voyage on Titanic and the aftermath of the sinking.

The Girl Who Came Home is a lovely and sad story. It's well-written and emotional. I listened to the audiobook version....and I think hearing it read in a lovely Irish accent added more depth to the story for me. The audiobook is narrated by Connor Kelly-Eiding and Alana Kerr. They both read at a nice, even pace and are easily understandable. I have hearing loss, but was easily able to enjoy this audiobook with no problems. I normally don't like books that jump back and forth in time as it gets tedious and often confused, but Gaynor pulls it off. I enjoyed this book from start to finish. Beautiful, haunting and just lovely -- a great book! I will definitely be reading more by this author.

I can't truly imagine what it must have been like for those on board the Titanic. For those in the lifeboats, hearing more than 1000 people screaming and dying in the cold water must have been heartbreaking. And for those in the water, it must have been horrific. Hazel Gaynor does a great job of depicting the joys of the lavish ship, the differences between steerage and the first class accomodations, the huge range of passengers aboard, the absolute horror of the sinking, and the depths of despair and loss felt afterwards. I think the most memorable part for me is towards the end....hundreds of family members waiting at the dock in New York in the pouring rain for hours. The Carpathia was due to dock, and it was carrying survivors.Some are happily reunited and others learn the final sad truth about the death of their loved ones. Very emotional scene.

Gaynor is the author of several books including The Cottingley Secret and The Girl from the Savoy.