Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan

Ruth Gilligan's surprising, complex and haunting novel, Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, explores issues of identity and love through the  lives of three  characters living in Ireland at different times, whose lives touch one another's through coincidences that are ultimately revealed. Central to each of the three alternating stories are themes of Jewish culture and teachings and the intersection of Jewish and Irish identity. The story begins in 1901 aboard a ship about to deliver a Lithuanian-Jewish family to what they anticipate is America but turns out to be Ireland. How young Ruth makes a life for herself in this unexpected milieu intertwines with the story of Shem, a young Jewish man who lost his voice at the most crucial of moments, and that of Aisling, Irish Catholic girl who faces a decision that will determine her future. In lyrical language, the author paints a picture of Ireland's Jewish community and the immigrant experience. Intermarriage, antisemitism, WWII in "neutral" Ireland, and Judaism's ethical teachings are other major elements in the story. Spanning over a century, these three seemingly disconnected stories come together in a way that, though perhaps a bit of a stretch, is ultimately satisfying by the end of the book.

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The author tells a compelling story about the fate and circumstances of the lives of Jews in Ireland in the 20th century. The lives of the 3 individuals are both sad and poignant. The plot is complex but tells a historical story, which I suspect, is not well known. She examines the meanings of identity and self-worth.

The vast cultural differences between the landed Irish and the immigrant Jews who come to settle in the country, the issues of acceptance and the grappling with a unique sense of identity are told through the stories of three individuals, in different time periods throughout Ireland's turbulent history in Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan. Ruth Gilligan has created fiction redolent with Gaelic fables, Irish ideals and a plethora of very interesting Irish history.

First on the scene is the Latvian family whose ship is grounded at Cork, rather than America, in 1901, and follow Ruth, their younger daughter. Then we are introduced to Shem, in 1958, who has become an elective mute rather than speak against his mother, whom he believes has done something terrible. His parents place him in a dismal Catholic psychiatric facility, where he stays for life. Lastly, Aisling is an Irish Catholic girl living in London, in love with Jewish Noah, who wants her to convert so they can be married. In oblique ways, their stories intercept; they all share a piercing beauty and sense of loss. Each in their way, is a story of sacrifice, of what it means to be Jewish and how that has transformed their lives.

"...a Chosen people... the “Choosing People,” since it is in fact they who decide to respond to God’s requests, they who take the leap."

Noah folds paper into origami swans for Aisling... Nine folds to convert paper to beauty; a group of swans- if she doesn't join Noah, "a lament of swans"? Choices.

A lovely, thoughtful story to consider and enjoy.