The book is set in a small Irish village in 1825. The villagers scratch out a living from making butter, selling eggs or spinning wool. Their Catholic faith is mingled with a heavy dose of superstition and a belief in curses and fairies or The Good People. Nora Leahy loses her husband and daughter in a year and is left to raise her four year old grandson Michael, who is unable to walk or speak, alone. Nora is ashamed of the boy and tries to hide him. She hires a young girl, Mary, to help with Michael. A local 'medicine woman' Nance Roche, along with many of the villagers, believe the boy may be a changeling (switched by evil fairies). Nora and Mary ask Nance to help them get rid of the changeling and bring back Nora's true grandson.
The story is bleak and depressing. Every character is dirt poor, and many are mean and superstitious. People are constantly looking for reasons for their misfortunes (hens that stop laying eggs, or a bad crop) and blaming it on something their neighbour did or didn't do. Pagan superstitions such a spilling milk or throwing salt are mixed up with Catholic practices such as making St Brigid crosses for protection.
Not a lot happens in the first 320 of 380 pages. I was tempted to give up and I just read the first sentence or two of each paragraph for quite a few pages. To its credit the book is well written and brings to life a lost world, though not a very nice one! The final 60 pages were more interesting, but I'll be giving it to the charity shop rather than passing it onto friends. It wasn't my thing!
