As an Irish person who has flown to America, I was delighted
to read about a young lady flying the other direction. She
lands in Dublin and heads north to Belfast. While exploring
ALL THE WALLS OF BELFAST, young Fiona Kelly explains that
she is Irish but has lived in Madison, Wisconsin, since she
was small. With her mother. Her father, now a reformed
character, used to be a trouble maker.
Daniel Stewart hails from the other side of the forty-foot
high Peace Wall. At one time this construction kept
Protestant and Catholic communities apart, separating the
Falls Road from the Shankill Road. Today, Fiona sees that
the Troubles have gone, but old memories linger. For
instance, her father Peter Kelly is on a no-fly list, and
her step-brothers Patrick, Seamus and Finn are strangers,
because her mother was too afraid to contact her family.
She meets Daniel by chance in the city centre. He's come
from an army recruiting office; he wants to train as an army
medic, to escape from his abusive father. True to form,
Daniel is unable to walk past a teenage girl who looks ill,
so he stops to offer help. The Fading Stars t-shirt Fiona
wears encourages conversation, since Daniel is a fan; and
they're both on WhatsApp.
I enjoyed seeing the City Hall, Queens University, and the
Botanic Gardens, from a tourist's viewpoint. Because Fiona
arrives in July, some Loyalists are determinedly
constructing massive piles of material to make giant
bonfires, for cultural reasons. As a counterpoint, former
Nationalists have thoughtfully painted memorial murals for
fallen friends. No matter how much life changes, some
divisions remain. This is clearly the point of the title -
that all the societal walls still exist, crumbling brick by
brick as someone from a deprived community gets a better
job, or the police force opens up recruiting across the
board. Hope for a brighter future comes from the younger
folks, and those who have lived outside the narrow-minded
societal boundaries. To Fiona, everyone she sees is just
another Belfast citizen, but Daniel automatically labels
people based on their looks.
Some of this coming of age tale by Sarah Carlson is hugely
gritty. More of it is just plain detailed, well observed,
interesting, and full of character growth. The tale at times
is distressing and has strong language, so best for mature
teens or adults. Ultimately, I found the book heartening.
ALL THE WALLS OF BELFAST are not disappearing, we
understand, so it's up to this generation to paint some
hope on their blocks.
The Carnival at Bray meets West Side Story in
Sarah Carlson’s powerful YA debut; set in post-conflict
Belfast (Northern Ireland), alternating between two
teenagers, both trying to understand their past and preserve
their future. Seventeen-year-olds, Fiona and Danny must
choose between their dreams and the people they aspire to be.
Fiona and Danny were born in the same hospital. Fiona’s mom
fled with her to the United States when she was two, but,
fourteen years after the Troubles ended, a forty-foot-tall
peace wall still separates her dad’s Catholic neighborhood
from Danny’s Protestant neighborhood.
After chance brings Fiona and Danny together, their love of
the band Fading Stars, big dreams, and desire to run away
from their families unites them. Danny and Fiona must help
one another overcome the burden of their parents’ pasts. But
one ugly truth might shatter what they have….
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy