A Dance in Donegal, by Jennifer Deibel, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Ireland 1921

A Dance in Donegal transported me from Canada in 2021 to a village on the west coast of Ireland in 1921. I haven’t quite returned home yet. If I really went there and encountered all that this main character did, I doubt I would fare as well as her, though. She was transported from Boston, alone in the unknown.

Vivid Contrasts

My thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review. I chose it out of the several they published this month because it’s based in Ireland. Two of my great-grandparents were Irish and I’m curious about their land and lives. I wonder if they came from villages like this. Thank you to the author for painting a vivid word-picture. You showed us the setting and the interactions of villagers, good and bad. Simple and poor living conditions, generosity, gossip, lies, loyalty, betrayal, sickness, superstition, hatred and love. Most of all, the miracle of God’s love, which changes lives. You even gave us tastes of the language, integrated in phrases.

Tea and brown bread seem to be mainstays. I wonder whether it’s the same brown bread we eat nowadays here in North America, made with yeast. Perhaps they used a quicker molasses and soda recipe.

Writing Style

Chapters are short; nice for me as I read in between doing other things. The pace is comfortable. I like how the author gets into the heads and hearts of the main characters. Readers can almost feel their emotions with them. However, some of the physical emotive description seemed overdone to me. I couldn’t relate to tears splashing onto my breast, or bile in my throat as a reaction.

I’m glad the main character survived her first few months. At the end, somehow it seemed like a beginning from which the story could continue. Maybe there will be a sequel.

To learn more about the author and upcoming books, go to JENNIFERDEIBEL.COM.