Author Arti Jain's "and all the SEASONS in between" - #BookReview

Every so often a book comes along that leaves you with a smile and a feeling of peace. One such book for me is "and all the SEASONS in between" by Arti Jain. She has written a remarkable fairy-like tale woven through with delightful childhood memories.

A novel for all ages, toddlers to the ageless young-of-heart, this is an uplifting narrative of sunny days in India spent under the tutelage of loving grandparents and an uninhibited imagination. Every sentence and phrase is exceptionally well-written prose, which at times feels almost poetic in style.

Artemis, a young girl living in a valley surrounded by hills and Himalayan mountains, divides her days between a fairy world of imagination and real life with a loving family. In an early scene, she spends time with her grandfather, Papaji: "I planted myself on the cool soil next to him; my face turned up towards the lush vines watching the sun dabble with its leaves -- a dapple of bright here, a dash of dark there." Each setting is made vivid with unique descriptions, whether referring to dragonflies or radishes or yoghurt baths.

What has me most enamored of the book, along with the pleasing book cover and writing style, is Arti's reading of the final chapter, "He carried dirt under his fingernails".

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Visit Arti at her web site: My Ordinary Moments (artismoments.blogspot.com)

Check out her book at Amazon.com in ebook and paperback formats.

Listen to Arti's reading from the book: He Carried Dirt Under His Fingernails | Arti Jain | English Spoken Word - Bing video

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What's in an Irish Name: Novel Research

Interviews and blog posts for “Novel Research” are focused on

interesting topics that participants have researched before or while

composing a written work - whether fact, fiction, or family history.

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My ancestors from Tipperary, Ireland have the name McKeough. The family, including my gggrandmother Margaret, emigrated from Ireland to Canada and later settled in eastern Wisconsin. Generations later, I heard my relatives pronounce the name as "McKey". While delving into the Irish branch of my family tree, I researched the purpose of beginning a name with the prefix Mac, Mc, or O, I learned the following:

 

In ancient Ireland the population was much smaller than it is today and the mass movement of people was uncommon. Therefore, for a person to be known only by one name was usual. This single name system began to break down during the eleventh century as the population grew and there was a need for a further means of identification. The solution was to adopt a prefix such as Mac (Mc is an abbreviation) or Ó.

 

Mac means "son of" whilst Ó means "grandson of".

Idyllic Irish Farmland

 

In the years before my ancestors left Ireland, many rural families in Ireland lived in single-room cabins made of mud and without windows or chimneys. People often lived together in communal clusters called clachans (a small settlement or hamlet) spread out among the beautiful countryside. Up to a dozen persons might occupy a cabin, sleeping in straw on the bare ground, sharing space with the family's pig and chickens.

In the 1840s, my ancestors moved from Ireland to Lower Canada, later known as Quebec. No records of movement for free emigrants to Canada were required until 1865. (The USA required these records since 1773.)

 

Engaging in genealogical research and then writing a novel based on the information garnered from the research - SHARDS OF MEMORY Oral History in a Heartbeat - is my idea of an exciting pastime. It's not climbing Mount Everest, or kiteboarding on O'ahu (no, that's not me on the water!) but the "high" is still there.

Kiteboarding (or kitesurfing) with Mōkapu Peninsula in background

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What names of relatives or locations have you researched in your family tree?

SHARDS OF MEMORY

Oral History In A Heartbeat

is available at Amazon.com in print and ebook

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