Edging Away from Home
As an American of Irish descent in the 1990's I was concerned about "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland. I did what little I could; I wrote President Clinton (in the snail mail of the time) and sent letters to the editor of Irish America magazine urging a peaceful solution. Living in Los Angeles, what did I really know? I knew people were fighting each other and people were dying in the land my great grandparents came from. Obviously, you cannot really know what is going on unless you live the life.
In "Factory Girls" Michelle Gallen brings us right back to those streets. In a small Northern Irish town Maeve Murray and her friends are awaiting the results of their academic exams, Maeve hoping to escape to study journalism in London. While waiting, she and her friends find work in a shirt factory for the summer. Being Catholic, she has rarely encountered Protestants and the factory is split between the two groups. There are rumors a peace treaty is imminent and the area is tense as the two sides are stepping up activity in order to be in a better position when and if hostilities are halted.
Maeve is outrageously funny, passionate and sharp and not about to take "gruff" from anyone. Her "posh" friend Aoife comes from an upper-middle class background and sees the world from a different point of view. Another friend, Caroline, is a little less ambitious and does not seem as restless. Looming large is the memory of Deirdre, Maeve's troubled sister who was unable to cope with their world and resorted to suicide.
I loved the characters in this book and the sense of how hard and dangerous life was like for these people. I understand Michelle Gallen's previous book "Big Girl, Small Town" is excellent and left some reviewers disappointed in this one. I can only say I look forward to checking out that earlier work, having enjoyed "Factory Girls."
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
As an American of Irish descent in the 1990's I was concerned about "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland. I did what little I could; I wrote President Clinton (in the snail mail of the time) and sent letters to the editor of Irish America magazine urging a peaceful solution. Living in Los Angeles, what did I really know? I knew people were fighting each other and people were dying in the land my great grandparents came from. Obviously, you cannot really know what is going on unless you live the life.
In "Factory Girls" Michelle Gallen brings us right back to those streets. In a small Northern Irish town Maeve Murray and her friends are awaiting the results of their academic exams, Maeve hoping to escape to study journalism in London. While waiting, she and her friends find work in a shirt factory for the summer. Being Catholic, she has rarely encountered Protestants and the factory is split between the two groups. There are rumors a peace treaty is imminent and the area is tense as the two sides are stepping up activity in order to be in a better position when and if hostilities are halted.
Maeve is outrageously funny, passionate and sharp and not about to take "gruff" from anyone. Her "posh" friend Aoife comes from an upper-middle class background and sees the world from a different point of view. Another friend, Caroline, is a little less ambitious and does not seem as restless. Looming large is the memory of Deirdre, Maeve's troubled sister who was unable to cope with their world and resorted to suicide.
I loved the characters in this book and the sense of how hard and dangerous life was like for these people. I understand Michelle Gallen's previous book "Big Girl, Small Town" is excellent and left some reviewers disappointed in this one. I can only say I look forward to checking out that earlier work, having enjoyed "Factory Girls."
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
