The Oystercatcher of Southwark
This novel extends from 1897 to contemporary Philadelphia, and it is based on Colahan’s great-great-grandmother’s Italian Catholic immigrant family.
In 1897, the first heroine, Mary Paragano, a talented artist, dreams of a happy future. Her dreams get derailed when she falls in love with and marries an observant Jew, Jakob, and they move to Newark, New Jersey, to avoid her father’s marriage plans for her. Jakob, however, is a feckless gambler who systematically erases his wife’s identity and abandons her and their young family. With her three children in tow and little money, Mary attempts a perilous journey back to Philadelphia, which involves several adventures and several sets of kind benefactors. Her luck runs out soon enough.
In 2018, Bella, Mary’s descendant, devastated by her own divorce, decides to investigate the complicated stories she has heard about Mary and her family. She is helped by a new friend, Sophie, who claims to be related to Jakob. Sophie proves very resourceful in uncovering facets of poignant stories about Mary and her children.
Colahan’s style is reportorial; she builds one fact upon another, and most of these facts are dismal. One hardship follows another with little breathing room in between, which makes the novel approach melodrama. Letters and reminiscences from other characters, while they provide interesting information, are not well integrated into the main narrative and further contribute to a disjointed reading experience.
