Give Them Stones

The author of A Belfast Woman presents a spare, powerfully affecting story with slyly humorous asides in the voice of Martha Hughes. The child of a poor Belfast family, Martha witnesses the strife between Catholics and Protestants, beginning during the time of the Troubles in 1935. Later, during World War II, the British intern her father, a Catholic suspected of IRA leanings. A woman grown, Martha marries and cares for her children with little help from her passive husband. During the years, she yearns for something of her own and for a united Ireland. When Martha discovers a talent for baking bread and earning money, she begins to fulfill both ambitions, contributing her profits to the Provos. But when the freedom fighters cripple a young boy, she refuses to give them further support and pays a terrible price for her rebellion. That is a momentary setback, however, not defeat for the courageous woman who struggles to achieve the life of dignity she deserves. (March)