I
picked up this book based on the cover. In the background is Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, the island
prison in San Francisco Bay. I had just returned from the Bay area and was
eager to hold onto its sights and sounds as long as I could.
The
story opens on Alcatraz in 1937. Inmate 257 tends his greenhouse at the warden’s
home. He strains to hear the sounds of a
search for a prison guard’s missing ten-year-old daughter. Alcatraz inmates
were only known by their number. On the outside, Inmate 257 was known as Tommy
Capello. However, that was not his real name.
The
story shifts to Dublin in 1919. Shanley Keagan (Shan) is a twelve-year-old orphan
living with an abusive uncle. Shan can sing, do impressions, and tell jokes. He
becomes a regular in his uncle’s pub and other pubs around the city. When he
discovers a letter from his departed mother, he realizes that his father is not
dead. He is an American; Shan is elated. He’s also eager to find him and a make
a new home. With his uncle forced out of business and failing health, the two
decide to go to America.
The
ship-ride over is harrowing. When the boat finally docks in New York, Shan is alone.
He meets an Italian-American family returning from a protracted visit to Italy.
The family adopts you Shan and he grows up as any young Italian-American boy
would. The story follows Shan-now-Tommy over the next twenty years. Tommy and
his new family become close. In an effort to help his brother Nick , when they
are both adults, Tommy ends up convicted of murder and is transferred to
Alcatraz.
I
was disappointed that two-thirds of the story took place in New York. I was
really looking forward to reading about Alcatraz during its heyday and feeling
the cold Bay breeze gently brush against my cheeks as I immersed myself in the tale.
I
enjoyed the story a lot; it was a quick and easy read, not one that I found
easy to put down once I started. But my
disappointment in the story’s locale forces me to give it 4 out of 5 stars.
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