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The Walking People

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ASK AGAIN, YES

Rural Ireland, the 1960s, and Greta Cahill must abandon her deserted village to follow her fearless sister Johanna onto a ship bound for America.

It's here in New York that she steps out of her sister's shadow and in to a life of her own, rich with love, work and family.

As the years pass Greta longs to revisit the past - to see her mother, to show her what she has made of herself - but she must protect a family secret, decades old.

So when her children conspire to unite the worlds she's kept so carefully apart, Greta fears she could lose it all...

A compassionate story of self-discovery and identity, The Walking People has remarkable range and power.

Praise for Mary Beth Keane:

'A novel of great compassion and understanding . . . rich with story' JOHN BOYNE on Ask Again, Yes

'A fearless writer' LISA TADDEO

'A writer of extraordinary depth, feeling and wit' Meg Wolitzer

'I'll read everything she writes' Liane Moriarty

'Immersive and deeply moving' Anna Hope

© Mary Beth Keane 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Critics Review

A compelling drama of transatlantic Irish life
Marries a deliciously old-fashioned style of storytelling with a fresh take on the immigrant experience . . . A warm, involving family drama
Booklist
An epic story about immigration, identity and family . . . Keane portrays the complex and, at times, challenging lives of these working-class women with tenderness and compassion
Guardian
Atmospheric, moving and brilliantly well-written
Daily Mail
This atmospheric read that spans from 1950s Ireland to modern-day America and follows the fortunes of a woman on the run from a family secret
Good Housekeeping
Engrossing . . . Captures the windswept grittiness of Irish poverty as vividly as the technicolour hustle and bustle of 1960s New York. The Walking People is the kind of novel you simply don't want to end
Daily Express
Keane's previous novel Ask Again, Yes, was on my best Books of 2019, and this is just as good. Its slow, melodic pace proves we don't always need fast action and twists. Set between Ireland and new York, it's about two sisters; one craves adventure, the other, family; both have secrets
Prima, 'Best Books of March'
An American dream story, told over decades, taking its reader from rural 1915 Ireland to the streets of New York and back again
Times Radio
A beautifully crafted novel about love, loyalty, culture, family and identity
Irish Sunday Independent
A moving and sweeping story that takes readers from the west coast of Ireland to America, following a family of immigrants across the different decades
Culturefly
Author Mary Beth Keane
Narrator Aoife McMahon
Duration 14 hours and 55 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781405949767
Format Audiobook
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Genre Family life fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, Narrative theme: Sense of place
Availability AU, GB, IE

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