Roise Rua
I came across Roise Rua in a small bookshop in Donegal, Ireland. It was originally written in Gaelic by Padraig Ua Cnaimhsi and was later translated into English by JJ Keaveny. It tells the story of a woman, Roise, who was raised on the island of Arranmore, off the coast north of Donegal. Cnaimhsi spent many years interviewing Roise about her life on the island and used those interviews to put together the book, which is told from the first person perspective. The first two-thirds comprise an autobiography of Roise, and the last third is a collection of stories that either happened before her time or didn't fit into the main narrative. It was definitely an interesting read. Roise's life was so unlike anything I have any experience with. She spent most of her young life as a migrant worker, working as either a servant on farms in Ireland or picking potatoes in Scotland. The money was sent back home to her mother until she finally decided to settle down and get...