“Through three story strands that stretch over the course of a hundred years, the many ways of being both Irish and Jewish become inextricably linked in Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, Ruth Gilligan’s fourth novel.”
“The legacy of diaspora runs throughout the novel, culminating in Aisling’s present-day narrative, after generations of characters of both Jewish and Irish descent find their families pulling them in a multitude of directions, migrating to England, Palestine, and the United States, among other places.”
“Irish culture’s deep ties to Catholicism means that religion is a crucial facet of being “Irish,” accounting for much of the isolation of the novel’s Jewish characters and suspicion toward the native-born Irish. The conflict of being simultaneously Jewish and Irish is most difficult for the novel’s Zionist characters, who find they can no longer stomach their duality.”
“Storytelling provides a grounding, communal force for each of these wayward, spiritually homeless souls.”
“The complex narrative is bogged down by some unnecessary distractions, such as the brief appearance of footnotes to describe marginalia Aisling notices in a book she’s been given, or Gilligan’s penchant for interrupting dialogue, which at once builds tension but is done to the point of distracting the reader and even causing confusion.”
“This spare form, leaving whole parts of conversations unsaid, builds drama, mimicking the way that, in the heat of argument or distress, irrelevant phrases drop away. Gilligan’s characters focus on the heart of what’s being said (or unsaid). However, in less successful moments, the bits of broken dialogue can make it difficult to distinguish a character’s desires or what he or she is trying to say at all”
“Ultimately, the connections between the three threads, the ties that are supposed to bind Ruth, Shem, and Aisling together, feel tenuous and faint. While the thematic struggle of identity, and Irish-Jewish identity at that, is palpable and moving throughout, less so is the motivation for the individual characters, whose ties to each other are almost coincidental, lacking the sort of unavoidable fate such a novel promises to build up from the outset.”
“Instead, the story trends toward happenstance, at best. Yet the stories that connect these generations, these cultures, to themselves and to each other are superlative in their legacy and strength.”
“Gilligan’s story steps back from any universal pronouncement about the self, or any resolution for its complexity, and though it may be a burden to feel contradictory (such as being both Irish and Jewish), there is satisfaction and wisdom in the attempt at bridging such a divide.”
“Mike Broida lives and writes in Boston.”