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A review by sueperlibrarian
The Next Ship Home: A Novel of Ellis Island by Heather Webb
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Next Ship Home.
Set in New York in the very early 1900s, Webb creates the scene as we meet immigrants of different backgrounds, cultures, and at different stages of their experience in the United States. Ellis Island was the hub of where immigrants landed from many countries in eastern Europe. By this point, Irish and German immigrants were higher up on the pecking order of things, while the Polish, Italians, and Greek were the shunned ones.
Alma is the daughter of German immigrants who run a beer hall. She secures a job at Ellis Island but hopes to become an interpreter. We meet Francesca, an Italian immigrant from Sicily who is escaping hardship and abuse and hopes for a better life. Surrounding them are a cast of characters, some stereotypical, all trying to make their way in the bustling city.
The book takes on a lot. Webb uncovers the atrocities happening at Ellis Island and peppers in factual information uncovered by investigations and news reports. Wrapped around this are the families of immigrants (1st and second generation) and how they cope.
The scenes were vivid as I could really place myself in the places. The characters were mostly likeable or hated if warranted. There are a lot of stereotypes thrown out but then, as a second generation American myself, know that this was normal conversation of the time. I found the dialogue campy and rolled my eyes at how some of the things were said, but I really enjoyed the storyline, just liking it better as a narrative than in the dialogue. A very high 3* will round to 4* for the purposes of this early review.
Set in New York in the very early 1900s, Webb creates the scene as we meet immigrants of different backgrounds, cultures, and at different stages of their experience in the United States. Ellis Island was the hub of where immigrants landed from many countries in eastern Europe. By this point, Irish and German immigrants were higher up on the pecking order of things, while the Polish, Italians, and Greek were the shunned ones.
Alma is the daughter of German immigrants who run a beer hall. She secures a job at Ellis Island but hopes to become an interpreter. We meet Francesca, an Italian immigrant from Sicily who is escaping hardship and abuse and hopes for a better life. Surrounding them are a cast of characters, some stereotypical, all trying to make their way in the bustling city.
The book takes on a lot. Webb uncovers the atrocities happening at Ellis Island and peppers in factual information uncovered by investigations and news reports. Wrapped around this are the families of immigrants (1st and second generation) and how they cope.
The scenes were vivid as I could really place myself in the places. The characters were mostly likeable or hated if warranted. There are a lot of stereotypes thrown out but then, as a second generation American myself, know that this was normal conversation of the time. I found the dialogue campy and rolled my eyes at how some of the things were said, but I really enjoyed the storyline, just liking it better as a narrative than in the dialogue. A very high 3* will round to 4* for the purposes of this early review.