The World Starts Anew

The Star and the Shamrock Series, Book 4

De: Jean Grainger

Narrado por: Siobhan Waring

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

The World Starts Anew

I enjoyed this series and the characters. It follows the lives of Germans and Jews in WWII to Ireland with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. Leaves one with a warm glow.

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.

amazing story

Jean Grainger books are so good. I only listen to them on my commute to and from work. Sometimes, I stay in the car a few extra minutes just to keep listening. I am a full time single mom and listening to these books are the perfect ME time. I am not Irish but these books can be loved by anyone of any origin.

This is my third book about the same people

That I have come to know and love. The hero was the rabbi Great book and narrator was excellent Good and evil of people was shown racial and religious prejudices were played out in the characters which is as true today as pre ww2. My only problem was this.?Did the author suggest we compromise our sincerely held beliefs (Christianity) for the sake just getting along I stumbled on this once fact.

A touching lesson in humanity

This was the culmination of the wonderful series of The Star and the Shamrock. All four books are a must read.

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.

The Star and the Shamrock

Excellent! Four books series excellent audible with wonderful narration. I will definitely listen to more books by Jean Grainger. Highly recommend.

very enjoyable

Read all the books of the Star and Shamrock series. Everyone of them was very interesting to follow the children from child to adulthood.

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.

Outstanding Performance

I love hearing the stories of surviving Jews from WWII that come from all over the world.. so many different perspectives and experiences that the whole story cannot be contained in one tale. I am deeply grateful for happy endings (I feel we get way too few of these..). I will definitely be looking into the history of Ireland as it pertains to the Jews. 💚