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"Whale Harbor" | Reviewed by Chris Stuckenschneider
Meet 11 strapping Irish sons in a heartfelt novel set on both sides of the Atlantic, a rewarding book about family, love, courage and regrets. “Whale Harbor,” by Mary Beth Keane will engage readers with a story certain to be remembered, long after the novel’s been finished with a contented sigh.
The story opens in Connemara, Ireland, in 1963, its focus on 16-year-old Mac Joyce and his younger brother Rian, age 9. Rian is struggling in school, can’t seem to learn English, a problem if he’s to get along in the world today, Teacher says. To compound the issue, Rian doesn’t care a wit about his studies and frequently acts out. His bestie among his brothers is Mac, who defends Rian, whom his father, Cathal, sees as “contrary.”
Cathal and his wife Mary have their hands full with their tribe, though most of the familial responsibility lands on Mary because Cathal finds solace in drinking the Irish brew he makes, frequently disappearing for days after Mary delivers a baby, absences that embitter Mac.
Naturally, the boys notice Cathal’s drinking and the way he abandons Mary, who seems to plod on, a good mother, patient and loving, a workhorse there for family. But Mary’s health suffers after Baby Lawrence’s birth, fatigue rendering her exhausted, a symptom that goes unnoticed. When Mary dies the family is shocked and Cathal is desperate, a man alone with a packet of boys and a weeks-old infant.
Cathal disappears, this time returning with a woman whom he insists the boys accept as their new mother.
Nuala is a robust, responsible person who only has time and love for the younger boys. Their father wants no criticism of her and forces his sons to accept things the way they’re going to be, sending one son to a relative and others to England, though they don’t want to go. Mac and Rian see Nuala as an interloper, and Rian’s behavior worsens.
When Mac gets the opportunity to go to Montana with his friend Martin, who lives on a neighboring farm and is off to America with his brother, Mac embraces the idea and prepares to leave. For Rian losing Mac is a loss he can’t handle, and he chases after the car that takes his brother away. For decades, Mac is consumed by guilt that he abandoned Rian so soon after their mother’s death.
As the years commence, some of Mac’s other brothers come to States, several finding work in New York City, where Mac ends of working as a farrier, a job he began in Montana. His life is rich in the city where he falls in love, has children and enjoys adult relationships with his siblings and their families. But worries about Rian persist, Mac’s guilt paramount because Rian ran away from home immediately after Mac left for Montana. No one has heard from him since.
Pages turn quickly in hopes all 11 brothers will be reunited. Healing ensues, their maturity bringing wisdom, acceptance and forgiveness, the working out of relationships a realistic process.
The metaphor of a whale gives “Whale Harbor” its title. When Mac and Rian are just boys, a huge whale washes up on shore, it body decaying but its bones taken to a museum. At the end of the novel a pod of 11 whales appears in the harbor, a fitting end to a treasure of a book.
