LITMIR.BIZ

"Powerful…Every page is saturated with the 1930s milieu as the sisters navigate the adversities of their reality on a sea rough with the unrealistic expectations of well-intended idealists both religious and secular. As if to highlight those expectations, Taylor periodically interrupts her third-person narrative with Greek chorus-type commentary from the Scranton-based Isabelle Lumley Bible Class, including excerpts from a 1929 sex manual for women. The overall result is a thought-provoking book club discussion cornucopia."–Booklist, Starred review"Set in the 1930s, Taylor's suspenseful and intricate follow-up to Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night tells the story of sisters Violet and Lily Morgan…Taylor delivers startling plot twists and incisive commentary on the social unrest of a coal-mining town during the Great Depression. Covering a six-year span, the novel reveals the consequences of arduous labor and widespread sterilizations that came with the eugenics movement. Among the prostitutes, mobsters, and miners is a web of interconnected lives that come together for a breathtaking ending in Taylor's fine sequel."–Publishers Weekly"A good selection for book clubs, All Waiting Is Long is set in Pennsylvania coal country in the 1930s, a time of tumultuous change and social unrest, including the rise of the eugenics movement. Barbara Taylor's characters–a cast of nuns and prostitutes, mobsters and miners, social activists and church busybodies–reflect the varying pressures and expectations of small-town life with rich, insightful prose and dialogue that rings true to each character's voice. Will the web of lies the two sisters weave around themselves survive? You''ll have to read it yourself to find out. Recommended."–Historical Novel Review"Barbara J. Taylor has created another suspenseful page-turner . . . revealing shocking details of enlightened thinking in the 1930s against the backdrop of political corruption, unions, rampant prostitution, coal mine strikes, and judgmental Christians. But it's Taylor's finely honed characters and plot twists that make All Waiting Is Long an unforgettable novel."–BookMark on WPSU"In this richly populated community, old ties are either torn or tightened, and the characters left behind when the sisters went off are nicely fleshed out…Ms. Taylor writes with total mastery of her craft. Her similes and metaphors are born of a highly developed abstractive sensitivity, and her dialogues are unerringly true to their respective speakers."–BookPleasuresThe latest novel in Akashic's Kaylie Jones Books imprint.All Waiting Is Long tells the stories of the Morgan sisters, a study in contrasts. In 1930, twenty-five-year-old Violet travels with her sixteen-year-old sister Lily from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to the Good Shepherd Infant Asylum in Philadelphia, so Lily can deliver her illegitimate child in secret. In doing so, Violet jeopardizes her engagement to her longtime sweetheart, Stanley Adamski. Meanwhile, Mother Mary Joseph, who runs the Good Shepherd, has no idea the asylum's physician, Dr. Peters, is involved in eugenics and experimenting on the girls with various sterilization techniques.Five years later, Lily and Violet are back home in Scranton, one married, one about to be, each finding her own way in a place where a woman's worth is tied to her virtue. Against the backdrop of the sweeping eugenics movement and rogue coal mine strikes, the Morgan sisters must choose between duty and desire. Either way, they risk losing their marriages and each other.The novel picks up sixteen years after the close of Barbara J. Taylor's debut novel, Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night–a Publishers Weekly Best Summer Book of 2014–and continues her Dickensian exploration of the Morgan

Подробнее

Nominated for a 2014 Lime Award for Excellence in FictionNamed a Best Book of Summer 2014 by Publishers WeeklyNamed a Pick of the Week for the week of June 30th by Publishers Weekly"An earnest, well-done historical novel that skillfully blends fact and fiction."–Publishers Weekly"A profound story of how one unforeseen event may tear a family apart, but another can just as unexpectedly bring them back together again."–Publishers Weekly, Best Book of Summer 2014 Pick"Solomon enticingly described the novel Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night by Barbara J. Taylor (Akashic), set in a coal-mining town in 1913, as 'one of those sit on the couch and don't bother me' reads."–Shelf Awareness, NCIBA Spring Rep Picks"An absolute gem of a book filled with beautiful characters and classical writing techniques rarely seen in modern literature."–The Christian Manifesto, Top Fiction Pick of 2014"This story is at once poignant and hopeful, spiced up by such characters as Billy Sunday, the revivalist, and Grief, the specter who haunts Grace to the very edge of sanity. A rich debut."–Historical Novel Society"Like Dickens, the novel faces family tragedy, in this case the town blaming 8-year-old Violet Morgan for her older sister's death. As her parents fall victim to their own vices, Violet learns how to form her own friendships to survive."–Arts.Mic"A fantastic novel worthy of the greatest accolades. Writing a book about a historical event can be difficult, as is crafting a bestseller, but Barbara J. Taylor is successful at both."–Downtown Magazine"Taylor's careful attention to detail and her deep knowledge of the community and its people give the novel a welcome gravity."–The Columbus Dispatch"One of the most compelling books I've ever read…a haunting story that will stay with the reader long after reading this novel."–Story Circle Book Reviews"Rave reviews are pouring in for this historical novel of a family tragedy."–The Halifax Reader, «6 New Books to Look for in July»"This well-written book is peopled with characters the reader can really care about and captures the feeling of a gritty twentieth century coal mining community."–Breakthrough, newsletter of the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation"Like all good historical fiction, I learned from this novel."–Time 2 Read"This book has…prizewinner written all over it....Worth the read!"–I've Read This"This haunting story of tragedy and hope in an early twentieth century mining town is…an expertly crafted arrow that shoots straight for the heart. Reminiscent of classics such as How Green Was My Valley…this book is a must-read for fans of character-driven, authentic historical fiction."–Amy Drown BlogAlmost everyone in town blames eight-year-old Violet Morgan for the death of her nine-year-old sister, Daisy. Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night opens on September 4, 1913, two months after the Fourth of July tragedy. Owen, the girls' father, «turns to drink» and abandons his family. Their mother Grace falls victim to the seductive powers of Grief, an imagined figure who has seduced her off-and-on since childhood. Violet forms an unlikely friendship with Stanley Adamski, a motherless outcast who works in the mines as a breaker boy. During an unexpected blizzard, Grace goes into premature labor at home and is forced to rely on Violet, while Owen is «off being saved» at a Billy Sunday Revival. Inspired by a haunting family story, Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night blends real life incidents with fiction to show how grace can be found in the midst of tragedy.

Подробнее