Diane Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
Editor & Reviewer, Donovan's Literary Services
Budding genealogists who want a celebration of and knowledge about the process of tracing family history and understanding the past will find The Remembering: Of Leather & Stone a powerful work of historical fiction. It reflects genealogy's translation into not just the tapestry of Charles Paul Collins's relatives, but its influence on modern America.
Perhaps there's no better time for the immigrant experience to spring to life than now, under the pen of an author whose family foundations rested on new worlds and achievements. Collins brings an earthy understanding of the daily rigors of his family to life, choosing the unusual format of three personal journals that read as though they were written by his ancestors two hundred years ago.
The result feels like a memoir but enjoys the dramatic flair of fiction that brings moments and memories to life. Ethnic contrasts and conflicts in early Boston are presented as Irish and Italian families evolve new connections and navigate this strange new land.
A modern family's discovery of the journals hidden in the attic brings to light facets of their heritage. These follow an odyssey begun when fourteen-year-old Cornelius is forced to escape the Great Famine in Ireland - a seven-year period of struggle, first going to England and then onwards to the U.S.
A prologue sets the historical stage, an introduction discusses genealogical discovery and new software which supported the author's research into the past, and the foundations of the story are set.
From the start, Collins creates an atmospheric story that immerses readers in the past:
Death by starvation is a slow, merciless fate. Worse than the sight of it is the smell, which can make you retch whatever little you have in you. After that, you can't eat anything, no matter how hungry you are. The sight and smell linger in your senses, taking over your mind with no escape. The year 1848 was the worst of it.
This attention to "you are here" detail carries over into the added value of considering immigrant experiences and issues which are mirrored by the prejudices and assumptions of modern-day America:
"The real danger," one of the lads said, "is the ugly cycle of fear, lies, and deceit that keeps the Irish poor and kills their chances for work and survival."
I couldn't stop wondering: why are people born in America behaving like the English they fought against and drove out over seventy years ago? Where does the hate in these 'nativist' people come from? Can hate be an infectious disease of the mind, passed down through generations without them even realizing it?
These assets lend The Remembering: Of Leather & Stone both a realistic historical touch and a contemporary relevance that makes the tale of special interest to reading groups considering immigrant history, experience, and connections between past and present.
Libraries seeking a story that is especially evocative and compelling will find it easy to recommend The Remembering: Of Leather & Stone to general-interest historical fiction readers, patrons with a special interest in early Irish or Italian roots, and book clubs seeking discussion and debate material that is at once thought-provoking and easy to digest.