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Becoming Mary Mehan (Readers Circle) | 
 enlarge | Author: Jennifer Armstrong
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $6.98 (100%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 809442
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7 x 4.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0440229618
EAN: 9780440229612
ASIN: 0440229618
Publication Date: February 12, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Next Day Shipment. Mass Market Paperback.
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Product Description
Jennifer Armstrong’s two masterful novels about Mary Mehan are now together in one volume. Set against the pivotal events of the American Civil War, The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan depicts an Irish immigrant girl and her family, struggling to find their place in a country at war with itself. In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews said, “Armstrong mixes vision and reality with breathtaking virtuosity, salting Mairhe’s narrative with poetic turns of phrase, snatches of song, story, and history.”
Mary Mehan Awake takes up Mary’s story after the war when, much like the broken country, Mary must begin a journey of emotional and physical renewal. Of this book, The Horn Book Magazine said, “The story unfolds effortlessly and richly. It’s The Secret Garden for an older audience, with friendship and nature gratifyingly providing healing and wholeness.”
This new Readers’ Circle edition includes an interview with the author discussing her ideas about how history is remembered and recorded, and the obligations and opportunities of the historical novelist.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great second novel July 7, 2008
First off, if you happen to find this book, do not read the back synopsis, and I would also suggest avoiding the amazon option to take a look inside. The synopsis basically tells exactly what happens. It is so full of spoilers as to almost be ridiculous, so be careful.
To avoid giving away any spoilers, all I'll say is Becoming Mary Mehan centers around a young Irish girl who moves to Washington during the Civil War. That is only the first novel; the second deals more with the aftermath.
The first story, although containing some wonderful descriptive writing, was a little lacking in character development and in originality. I have heard many, many war stories with the same ending and I was really looking for something different. That aside, it is not a bad story. I just didn't quite like it.
When I read this it was very late at night, and I planned to finish the first novel, get a little into the second, and then quit until the next day...Bad idea. I had to finish the second half. The first half may have been mediocre, at the least, but the second was extraordinary. I rarely say this, but I was very touched by Mary's relationship with the other characters. And it wasn't until I neared the last twenty pages that I realized how little was left of the story, and it really upset me. This second, unfortunately short novel, I did not want to end. I wished it had been longer.
I know that what I said about the first novel was negative, but when compared to the second half, I don't think it compares. This is a very nice set of novels that, while historical fiction, is comforting, entertaining, sometimes bitter, uplifting, and an enjoyable enough read to where even though I could not bring myself to stop reading, I regretted that the story ended.
Overall: A wonderful story that I highly recommend.
 A Historical Keeper December 21, 2003
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is actually a 2-in-1 and the way it's told is absolutely great.
The first part, "The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan", tells of an Irish immigrant girl with her brother caught up in the Civil war and her father losing his mind. She is the one making the living working in a bar in the Irish slums of Washington D.C. She waits for her dear brother to return from the war...but when he doesn't she is broken. Her only choice is to turn to help the wounded in war.
This first novel leaves you sad and feeling sorry for Mairhe and at times I had put this book down because it was dragging a little.
But the second novel, "Mary Mehan Awake", is superb. This one I couldn't even stop to eat until I had read the entire thing. This is where, told not in her point of view as the first was, told in a narrative form. And as the author puts it, "I knew she could not narrate the sequel because sleepwalkers cannot narrate stories." The war has cut her deeply and she seeks refuge in New York, a pleasant setting compared to the bloody soldiers in Washington D.C. Here she works as a servant in a household. But it's a great place where she even finds someone to help her become awake again.
This is an amazing story with even a more amazing ending. It will leave you happy and contented, just like Mary.
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