Good. Even though this is Mary Beth Keane's debut novel and has been out in the US since 2009 it is finally being published here in the UK on 4th March 2021. This book centres on two sisters and the secrets they keep to hold their family together. Throughout this book nothing extraordinary happens but Mary writes in such a way that keeps you hooked to the very end and keeps you longing for more.

This wonderful book tells the story of Greta, her sister Johannah and Michael, starting with their childhood in Ireland. The writing is so good that you can feel the wind blowing off the ocean, smell the cow manure and taste the potatoes. It is a long book, but every sentence is beautiful. I can not recommend it highly enough!

The Walking People.

2 sisters Greta and Johanna, Irish 3 Brothers Mum Lily and Dad Big Tom never guess what I one of the sons was called? No well its Little Tom o you guessed. The sisters were born in the late 1940's the boys much earlier, the main income was from Salmon gathered late at night which is their issue everyone knew it was going on poaching that is. Then several things happen the Cahills our family get caught up in the Ward family a travelling family as they were called then. Julia Ward gets killed one night. Later on in time one of the Cahills dies plus a grumpy neighbour and two of the brothers go of to Australia (you need to read it to find out why), Michael Ward comes back to see his Mums grave things happen let you read that yourself as well and the 2 sisters with Michael in toe go up and off to New York for the price of a bull, no its true they sell the bull!!!
That's the gist of how the story starts from Irish village life to the Big Apple, I don't want to spoil the story because its a great one to lose yourself in I will say if you don't fall in love with Greta you could be reading a different book so put that one done this is better. All the characters are great and as with most historical fiction they characters are more open i guess with something special and that's true in Mary's novels. Its a read alone or could be first in a series but not sure however I hope there is more there sure enough characters to move with. The great thing is that all the characters work there are several but they all fit together and you don’t get lost with them as some authors can be prone to but not Mary. I say Mary don’t actually know her but love her books so feel like a secret friend she doesn't know about but not a stalker so I think it's ok. But what I mean is there are some authors that draw you to them and reading this book I think you may see or feel what I mean, she makes characters come alive the feeling there genuinely there in the room with you.
So this is an easy 5 stars I hope you love it as well, an escape to a different reality 🙂

I really enjoyed this. It is rare to find a novel that tells a whole life story through the years these days. I enjoyed reading about the lives of Greta, Johanna and Michael from their young years in Ireland, to their later years in the USA when their own children are grown up. There is a rich family history background and the lifestyle, attitudes and setting in time are well-researched. It is long and told at a gentle pace from past to present, which allows for total immersion in the story. However, I thought that the story was stronger than the characterisation and I did not really get into the heads of the main characters, particularly Michael. I was also disappointed by the ending as the bone of contention between Greta and her sister was not resolved to my satisfaction, although hinted at. These are minor quibbles for such an enjoyable reading experience. I also really liked Ask Again Yes by this author, and will look out for her next novel.

1960's Ireland and Greta and Johanna are on their way to America. They leave behind their mother and younger brother. Two older brothers are living in Australia.
Accompanying them is Michael, a traveller, a tinker, who has decided to leave his family and live in one place. Johanna and him are an item.
Greta finds herself growing up and finding her feet but then Johanna up and leaves them with a secret. A secret they will live with for many years until their children arrange a surprise.
Will this ruin the life they have built for themselves and what will it mean for the family?

Wow, this really was a family saga of epic proportions, taking the reader from rural Ireland to new York in the company of 3 main characters. I did find it quite slow going and it took me a while to adapt to the pace of the story, and there were parts I have to admit I skimmed through, but on the whole an enjoyable read. I also learnt what a "sandhog" is - a word I've never heard before!
Thank you to netgalley and penguin books for an advance copy of this book

would like to thank netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this mammoth of a book

an epic tale of irish immigrants and sandhogs...

wow have to say i learnt quite a bit reading this book, about the bravery of the people of ireland who got on a boat and sailed to new york and started off their new lives and about sandhogs and their role in new york city history

but this story is also about two sisters and a gypsy who embark on a life that is totally alien to them and their struggles with a new way of life and their memories of what they had left behind and i have to say i thoroughly enjoyed it, couldnt put the book down...

its an epic book mind but its worth it

Strictly speaking, the Walking People of this novel’s title are the itinerant tinkers of 1950s rural Ireland where the first half of the family saga is set. But the term can easily be extended to the regular ‘country folk’ with whom they have an uneasy but often symbiotic relationship.
It’s a novel of the immigrant experience, of the lure of family and place across seemingly huge distances. It centres around the Cahill family, eking a subsistence life out of farmland in the west of Ireland in the 1950s. Their struggles, tragedies and occasional triumphs are brilliantly written and strike the reader as having a verisimilitude that can often elude this well-worn material. It avoids much in the way of cutesy cliché and the characters are drawn convincingly. It’s particularly effective in drawing out the centrality of apparently insignificant details from the point of view of the deep development of character — for example, in Greta’s childhood visit to Galway to be fitted with spectacles. But it’s the detail to formative character moments like this that will help carry the rest of the book.
A chance visit from an American tourist leads to Greta, her sister and a young tinker called Michael emigrating to New York in the early 60s and the rest of the book tells of their lives their, the twists and turns of bringing up a family in a new country and the inevitable pull of the home left behind. In terms of plot, it’s perhaps not the most ground-breaking but Mary Beth Keane is particularly adept at avoiding the moments of high melodrama, eliding them and allowing the effective character work she’s already put in to carry us through them in a believable way.
The Walking People may not have particular depth but it has a considerable strength in its well-rounded and believable characters and will definitely be enjoyed most by readers of Anne Tyler or Elizabeth Strout’s finely honed family dramas.

The Walking People is a finely crafted portrait of family, community, and history. It takes us on a journey beginning in 1956 right up to 2007 as we follow the fate of the Cahill family, and a traveller, Michael Ward, whose worlds collide.

The Cahills are the only family left living in Ballyroan. With the death of her husband, Big Tom, and with her two eldest sons in Australia, Lily Cahill believes it is for the best if her two daughters, Johanna and Greta, along with Michael, leave for brighter horizons. They set sail for Queens, NY. Here, the trio begin to put down roots. But when Johanna discovers she is pregnant, life is set to take a turn that is to have far reaching consequences for them all.

The Walking People was a pleasure to read, and its languid pace is something I enjoyed. Some stories can be raced through, others need to be savoured and let to unfold at their own pace. This is one of those.

Not for me. I couldn’t get into this book at all nor could I engage with the characters or the plot.

I think this is a case of "it's not you, it's me..." but I have really struggled to engage with this book. I was so looking forward to reading this but, at 35% in, still didnt feel particularly invested in the characters or the story so far.

For now, I've decided to call it a day and return to this book at a later date when I may receive it better.

I won't be publishing this as my review on any sites, as I would like to give it another chance (hopefully, then I'll be in the right mood for it)

Unfortunately I couldn’t get into this book, it didn’t grab my attention or my interest. I began skimming the words which didn’t help. It’s annoying because I’ve really enjoyed her other books.
It’s a shame but I had to put it down, hopefully I will pick it back up and enjoy more the next time.

This was a beautifully written books and the characters were ell crafted. I was taking in by the characters and was both powerful and compelling. I loved Ask Again, Yes and this book didn't disappoint.

This is a book that is filled with love, compassion and difficult choices. I loved reading about the Cahill family and their journey from rural Ireland in the 1960s to present day New York. Mary Beth Keane provides a sensitive, well crafted and character driven story, which draws you in and makes you invest wholeheartedly.
I am always intrigued by tales of migration and the quest for a better life. This book provides this, plus much more.
I really enjoyed Ask Again, Yes which was published in 2019 and #TheWalkingPeople did not disappoint.
Thank you to the author, the publishers and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this lovely novel. I recommend it.

Mary Beth Keane certainly knows how to write a compelling family drama.  This story spans decades and continents and centers on Greta, an Irish immigrant who leaves her home on the west coast of Ireland in the 1960s to travel to New York.  There is something lovely, almost old fashioned about this book.  The descriptions of places and characters are all wonderfully done.  If I am being completely honest I probably slightly prefer the author's 'Ask Again, Yes', but 'The Walking People' is a lovely, touching read in its own right and I was surprised to learn that it is in fact the author's first novel in re-print.  Recommended reading.

Mary Beth Keane’s ‘Ask Again Yes’ is such a strong, memorable novel. Her debut ‘The Walking People’ is not in the same league and yet it is worth reading if you enjoy character-driven narrative. The author’s ability to immerse her readers in different cultures is a real talent: the rural Irish lifestyle, livings eked out through poaching and thrift, feels very real and raw and the depiction of the travellers’ way of life is full of authentic sounding detail.
The immigrant experience is explored intelligently and sensitively when Michael, one of the ‘walking people’ and Greta and Johanna Cahill arrive in New York from their tiny Galway village. I enjoyed learning how the characters’ lives develop and why they take the paths they do. However, perhaps because I had already read ‘Ask Again Yes’, I was a little disappointed in this novel overall. I began it expecting to be sucked in by a compelling portrayal of Keane’s central characters, their relationships with one another and the situations that they find themselves in. However, the overall narrative lacked pace whilst, ironically, the ending felt a little rushed.
Nevertheless, appreciating that this is Keane’s debut novel, I’ll be more than happy to pick up any novel that follows ‘Ask Again Yes’ chronologically. She has shown herself to be a wonderful writer!
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

A book of epic proportions, this story follows Greta and the love of her life from a tiny village in Ireland in the 1960s, to the present day. It is a story of migration, of resilience, of determination and the pure grit that characterises Irish American migration. Each character is drawn with depth, understanding and compassion. It is a tale to get lost in. I thought perhaps too detailed, too much tell rather than show in parts and found myself skipping a few paragraphs now and then, to find the point of the 'tell', but nonetheless this is a family saga that is well worth the long read.

There was something very nostalgic, brave and beautiful about this novel, which reminded me very much of Toibin's Brooklyn. Very lovingly rendered, and full of compassion and sweetness.

This is a subtle novel that draws you in gradually but conclusively until you’re desperately invested in the fates of Greta and Michael. A family saga spanning fifty years, from a tiny village in Galway abandoned by all but one family to the bustling streets of Manhattan, this is an novel about sisterhood, motherhood, found family and what it means to belong. The characters are richly drawn and the immigrant experience is sympathetically explored. Although fairly long, I raced through this in a couple of days as I couldn’t wait to see how the characters ended up where they are in the prologue. Highly recommended, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Its books like this that remind me why i love reading so much.
The storytelling is exceptional and whilst the first half of this book is pretty slow moving, around the 60% mark I realised I had become completely engrossed in the story without realising.
The plot once it got going was great and the characters were very well developed and fleshed out.

Would 100% recommend picking this book up.