Publishing year: 2010
Publisher: Viking
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
It’s 1910, and Raisa has just
traveled alone from a small Polish shtetl all the way to New York City. She is
enthralled, overwhelmed, and even frightened, especially when she discovers
that her sister has disappeared and she must now fend for herself. How do you
survive in a foreign land without a job, a place to live, or a command of the
native language? Perseverance and the kindness of handsome young Gavrel lead
Raisa to work in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory sewing bodices on the popular
shirtwaists…until 1911 dawns, and one March day a spark ignites in the factory.
Fabric and thread and life catch fire. And the flames burn hot enough to change
Raisa-and the entire city-forever. One hundred years after the Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory Fire (March 25, 1911) in New York City, the stories of love
and life lost are still relevant, and the hope that can come from despair still
resonates.
Review:
This is the third historical
fiction novel I’ve read about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and it’s
vying to be my favorite.
I love how the story starts in
Raisa’s Polish shtetl and carries through to the trial of the factory owners.
It shows us what life was truly like in the early 1900s. Raisa’s older sister
Henda even believes her to be dead because the wrong letter reached her before
the correct one could. This makes me extremely grateful for telephones and the
internet. All those modern conveniences we take for granted.
There were some large time gaps
after the fire we swiftly move through spring and summer and find ourselves
right back in chilly weather. I think Raisa’s fifteenth birthday is skipped
over as well, although I’m not certain.
The strongest factor of this book
is the characters. Friesner did a wonderful job of bringing them to life. I
envied Raisa’s ability to quickly befriend and comfort Brina, the child she
saves from a bleak future in a New York orphanage. I’ve never been popular with
small children, likely because I’m an only child and have only babysat a
handful of times. Already I admire Raisa and as her tale unfolds that
admiration grew. Each time she was backed into a corner or faced with an
insurmountable problem she tackled it head on and overcame the odds. She’s one
of the strongest characters I’ve encountered recently.
Gavrel the funny one.
“Now, let’s be honest, dearest,”
Gavrel said to her. “I know I love you, but I’ve got no idea if you can cook.
That’s why I’m eating all the good food I can get now, so that after we’re
married, at least I’ll have my memories.” Page 337.
He is never without humor and in
several instances, he boosts Raisa’s falling spirits and encourages her to
strive towards her goals of becoming a teacher and finding her sister. I was on
pins and needles when Raisa learned he had been working at Triangle on Saturday
when that dreadful fire occurred. Rather than be at the synagogue, he chose to
go to work so he could save money so that he could announce his plans to marry
Raisa to his parents. This was an almost unbearable sweet gesture on his part
and it seemed so tragic when he disappeared afterwards. I had to know what
happened. Did he die? Was he comatose? Where the heck did he go? I was tempted
to go to the end, but I held myself back. He had to be alive. He just had to
be. That’s the way this book is written. It grabs you and doesn’t let go until
you finish it. Bravo.
I only have one problem with this
book. Gavrel. Which is almost funny because he’s my favorite character.
Throughout the book he is strong and confident but in the end he almost breaks.
We finally discover his flaw, and it bothered me. True it proves him to be more
than a flat character but this made him seem weak to me.
Raisa was stronger than him and
maybe I’m a tad old fashioned but it’s not right. Anyway this only dropped my
rating by one point because otherwise it’s a terrific novel.
If you have an interest in
historical fiction, especially pertaining to further reading on the Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory fire, I would recommend Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix
and Ashes of Roses by Mary Jane Auch.
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