“The world does not turn without moments of grace. Who cares how small.”
The narrative charts the lives of the female descendants of Lily Duggan up to the modern times where Hannah reflects on their family's past. Hannah echoes the experiences of her great-grandmother, grandmother and her mother through her reiterations. She demonstrates the interconnectedness that is existent between all of them through their individual journeys. In the assertion, Hannah takes notice of how their history has been filled with moments of grace that have rippled through time. Thus, expressing a trivial moment or minor gestures can create a ripple effect that is felt for eons.
“His body, his mind, his soul, had, for years, served only for the profit of others. He had his own people to whom he was pledged. Three million. They were the currency of his freedom.”
The narrative interconnects the stories of different historical figures through history as they make their mark in the world. One such figure in the novel is Frederick Douglass; a former slave turned abolitionist, the narrative charts his journey as an abolitionist. Therefore a significant theme in the novel is slavery and racial violence. The statement highlights how Douglass also finds the Irish people have their own struggles hence are empathetic towards the cause.
