The World Starts Anew

The Star and the Shamrock Series, Book 4

By: Jean Grainger

Narrated by: Siobhan Waring

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Ballycreggan, Northern Ireland, 1955

Erich Bannon is happy in the small Irish village he has thought of as home since he arrived as a terrified, traumatised seven year old, one of the last Jewish children to escape Berlin in 1939. Now at twenty-three, it feels like all of his friends are drawn to The Promised Land, and he can understand why, but Israel is not for him.

One by one, they leave, and Erich is bereft. He feels lost but a chance encounter with an Irish Catholic girl gives him hope. All he and Róisín want is to be allowed to love each other but the traditions and rules of their backgrounds forbid it. By the time he learns that Róisín wasn’t honest with him about her family and what kind of people they really are, it is too late and he finds himself unwittingly embroiled in a dangerous world from which there seems to be no escape.

When Róisín disappears, events take a sinister turn and Erich wonders if their relationship really was all he thought it was.. Reluctant to place his family in danger, he has to solve his problems alone, something he’s never had to do before.

From rural Ireland, to the glitz of 1950’s America, from the orange groves of Israel to the dark streets of post-war Liverpool, The World Starts Anew, is the fourth book in the best-selling Star and the Shamrock series.

©2022 Gold Harp Media (P)2023 Jean Grainger

Great sequel

This beautiful story details Eric‘s life. He falls in love with a girl with ties to the Irish resistance. It’s a story of loss and coming together again. I was fascinated by The stories of the Irish Catholic unwed mother’s system. Beautifully told as always. And the narrator is amazing. I will miss this series.

Understanding the past…

Once again, this is a fascinating tale that sets the characters in an historical setting that gets glossed over in historical textbooks. I find it particularly interesting that Jean Grainger is able to take a different “side” of history in each of her series of books. Siobhan Waring is a master of character creation through her voice.

A beautiful series

Book 4 of the series takes you on a journey through the heartache and love of Erich and his family. It brings you from beginning to the end. What a touching story of life, lose, love and understanding. I hope we’re able to hear more of their life stories

A most enjoyable read.

With all the hatred in the world at this time, it is good to know that at least there can be some love between different people in a small part of the world for at least a short period of time. What more can we ask for? Maybe it could spread?

A WONDERFUL WRAP UP OF THIS 4-BOOK SERIES❣️

All four books in this series were superb! With each one, I was so sad the book was over, but I knew there was another book to look forward to with great anticipation. Each book focused on a different main character, but all the other favorites were still there (plus a few new characters are met as well). This book was a bit different as I knew that when this book was over, that was it. No more would be coming, and I was SO SAD! I really felt as if I were saying goodbye to very interesting, long-time friends.

Each character and each book in the series is quite memorable. This book focused on Erich and his love Roisin (an Irish name — “Ro” for short). Erich falls hard for Roisin and she falls for him, but he doesn’t realize that Ro’s two brothers (who are work apprentices for Erich’s stepfather, Daniel), plus another really nasty brother who is incarcerated, are especially overprotective. There is no way the brothers are going to let Ro date a Jew. They send their message to Erich by beating him half to death.

Soon after Erich gets a letter from Ro saying she doesn’t love him, and is in fact seeing someone else. Erich is devastated. Only later does he learn that Ro has become pregnant from their one encounter and Ro’s brothers have arranged to have her sent to a convent for unwed mothers. The convent is more of a prison work camp than a “home” for young “unwed mothers.” The nuns are mean and take pleasure in making the lives of the mothers as hard as they possibly can. All except ONE. She, along with another person, at Erich’s begging, will TRY to help Ro. But, even if they can get out, they still have Ro’s brothers to content with.

Meanwhile Erich’s sister, Liesel and her husband Jaime are having plenty of problems with Jaime’s mother, who is devoutly Catholic. She is having a FIT over the fact that Liesel and Jaime will raise their baby Jewish and NOT Catholic.

On top of everything else, Rabbi Frank has cancer, but the Rabbi can make good come from even this. He and someone he has known for many years find love.

The book does a wonderful job of tying all the ends up neatly for the reader. Ms. Grainger’s books often start out a bit slowly, but before the reader knows it, he or she is transported to a lovely, far away country and is completely invested in the story.

The narrator, Siobhan Waring is absolute magic. She makes the entire series come to live. Together, Ms. Grainger and Ms. Waring are a dream team!

Truly, this is one of the most memorable series I’ve ever read.