You’ll like Maeve Curragh. The Irish born young woman wants only to make her living and find a good husband in the big city of Chicago in 1919. She tells her own story in her own rambling way in the latest novel from author Mary Burns of Granthams Landing.
The title is The Reason for Time, a reference to Albert Einstein’s revelations of the period, and the book is published in Chicago by Allium Press. The events of the 10 hot days of July in which Maeve’s story takes place are literally ripped from the headlines of the newspapers of 1919.
Burns was born in Chicago, comes from a large Irish American family and visits there occasionally. After doing historical research at the main library, she came across newspapers of the period that inspired her book.
“It was quite amazing. Every day something dramatic was happening,” she said.
The story opens when a blimp falls from the sky, killing people and narrowly missing Maeve. During the hot summer days that follow, race riots ignite, a little girl is kidnapped, and a streetcar strike brings aching feet to the working poor. Maeve has her own issues: a handsome streetcar driver wants to teach her how to swim in Lake Michigan, a scary process. Though she works at a magic tricks catalogue company, there is never quite enough pay in her packet – sometimes she goes without dinner.
Readers might be put off by the first few pages. Maeve has a unique voice and her thoughts are expressed in a stream of ungrammatical phrases that can be difficult to follow. It will take you a few pages at least until her style of speaking sounds natural in your ear. But persevere because the character and her life are completely engrossing and entirely believable.
“It was a leap to try something different,” Burns said, “and it’s Maeve’s voice that attracted the publisher.” After all, Maeve has only a little bit of education – she’s really a girl of the streets, in a respectable way. Also some of the language used to refer to African Americans and Irish will jar us today, but is authentic to the time.
This is not the first book for Burns – she has published several novels, a non-fiction book and radio and stage plays. She will hold a Travelling Book Café at the Gibsons Library on Saturday, April 16 at 3 p.m. All are welcome to attend and listen to the reading. Paddy McCallum, poet and teacher, will read the male parts of the many dialogues while Burns reads Maeve’s words. There will be time for books sales, refreshments and questions afterward.
