Barbara J. Taylor (2)

I read Barbara J. Taylor's first novel, [Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night] a couple months ago. I loved it for its characters, its style and its setting in my adopted home city of Scranton, PA. Her second novel picks up about 16 years later with the same main character and a whole new set of personal challenges, and it's just as satisfying.

Violet Morgan has risen above the guilt she felt as a child over the death of her older sister, Daisy, partly as a result of taking on much of the responsibility of raising her new baby sister, Lily, in the face of their mother's emotional illness and their father's progressive work-related physical decline. Lily has been no easy charge. Spoiled from birth, and reckless with it, she now finds herself "in the family way" at 16, and being shuttled off to a Philadelphia home for unwed mothers, accompanied by Violet. Ostensibly, the girls are leaving Scranton to spend some time with their newly married aunt in Buffalo, to help her set up housekeeping. This is only the first of many deceptions, most of them equally well-intentioned, that move this story along. Naturally, secrets are found out, misunderstandings go unresolved, coincidences lead to revelations...everything you might expect to find in a good Dickens novel, in a tighter, more page-turning style. Again, the characters are well drawn, local history is incorporated almost seamlessly into the story, and nothing is quite predictable. Some larger historical events play a role here as well, as we learn about some positive medical advances, the unsavory beginnings of the eugenics movement, and internal disputes in labor organizations. Not Great Literature, but darned good reading. And I hope Ms. Taylor has another one incubating… (mais)

This is the story of a Welsh family and their neighbors in early 20th century Scranton, PA. The father is a coal miner; there is an inordinate number of ways for people to be killed or maimed in this time and place, and the Morgans have experienced several of them. There is a lot of sadness here, and Grief is a character who speaks and entices Grace Morgan to succumb completely to his "charms". Her daughter, Violet, struggles with guilt over her older sister's death, and because the adults are preoccupied with their own grief and guilt, she misinterprets many an action or remark to her own detriment. She is "saved" by her love for her friend Stanley and his benefactress, the widow Lankowski. Taylor has the locale and the history pitch perfect, and I really enjoyed reading this book, being able to follow almost every step of the characters through Providence, Chinchilla, Greenridge and the Patch....although occasionally I had to go look at old maps to see how certain streets used to connect with others where they are now blocked by flood control measures or commercial development or expressways, or University expansion. Even without knowing the local area intimately as I do, you can find a heartfelt story to enjoy here.… (mais)

This was a good book although definitely a chick-lit (not necessarily a bad thing). It explored many issues including poor working conditions in mining, horrible attitudes of pregnancy outside of marriage and single mothers thought of as lower class people. I found it a little unbelievable that Violet would let Stanley believe Lily's baby was hers and not really even try to explain. Then there's the question of just why Violet felt she needed to accompany Lily to the home for unwed mothers. . Having a sister with a pregnant prospective mother was undoubtedly very unusual. Once there, she seemed to not spend any time with Lily, preferring to spend all her time in the nursery with the newborn babies. If she had not accompanied Lily, perhaps Lily would have grown up a bit and matured into a less spoiled self-centered person. And Violet could have had a life with Stanley, a man much more suited to her personality wise. But, then there wouldn't have been as much of a story. I did like the book in spite of my previous comments. It just seemed a bit contrived. I did not feel compelled to keep reading but did finish it.… (mais)