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The main character, Eleanor O'Bannion, in this exceptional historical novel endures physical, sexual, and emotional abuse from the town union "hero," who is also married to her mother. In the first chapter, she kills him “accidentally,” and the book keeps moving rapidly from there. It describes the plight of turn-of-the-century silk workers as they are worked literally to death by the silk mill owners. Hering skillfully describes how New Jersey silk workers struck, fighting against the silk industry for better wages, working conditions, hours, and safety, just as copper miners were doing in Michigan at the time.
Beyond the factory life, the book delves into the life and times of early 1900s morality. The social norms were rigid. Citizens who didn't follow the dictates were often shamed and shunned. Those successfully keeping any indiscretions secret were consumed by guilt and self-loathing. The times were hard, to say the least. The working class was hungry for food and for hope. Yet for some, there was the possibility of light at the end of life's dark tunnel. As one character, Paddy O'Hara, puts it, "Amidst all the tragedy here, you may think me crazy but I still feel hope." Adding to the overall richness of the story, the novel's protagonists show extreme tenacity, loyalty, and never-ending pursuits of love, happiness, and justice.
As a writer, Hering is in the same league as acclaimed author Mary Doria Russell. The writing is so good, and the character development so complete, that readers long to know these fictional characters. To finish this book would be disappointing were it not for the other works by Hering to look forward to.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review