WHEN HISTORY, MYSTERY, ACTION, and ROMANCE ARE ALL ROLLED INTO ONE!
2016 GOLD MEDAL WINNER of Reader’s Favorite contest in Anthologies, these eleven short stories range from drug traffickers using hand-woven wallets, to a U.S. slave sewing freedom codes into her quilts; from a cruise ship murder mystery with a quilt instructor and a NYPD police detective, to a couple hiding Christian passports … passports into a comforter in Nazi Germany; from an old Salem Witchcraft wedding quilt curse to a young seamstress in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire; from a 1980’s Romeo and Juliet romance between a Wall Street financial ‘star’ and an eclectic fiber artist, to a Haight-Ashbury love affair between a professor and a macramé artist gone horribly wrong, just to name a few.
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Sewing Can Be Dangerous is a wonderful collection of short stories that are not what you may expect from the title but are in every way thought-provoking and entertaining. Through tales woven around such historic events as the Underground Railroad, the Salem Witch Trials, the Nazi occupation, the reader is taken in on a journey through each short story into worlds expertly woven together by the author, each connected by the common thread of sewing. But make no mistake, you don’t have to be a sewer to enjoy this wonderful collection.
5 stars.
An Intriguing Collection
Once again S.R. Mallery has brought history to life in this amazing compilation of short stories. Each features a woman who sews and makes a difference in people’s lives at various points in history.
The first story in the collection, “Sewing Can Be Dangerous,” begins with Susan’s curiosity about her relative, Sasha Rosoff, who died at the age of 16 in 1911. She learns about the family’s journey to the United States from Russia, and the hardships Sasha endures at the hands of Sasha’s father and as a worker at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. When the factory goes up in flames and Sasha’s body is identified, the girl’s mother isn’t convinced it’s her. Susan goes on a quest for answers.
Immediately hooked, I could hardly put the book down as I delved into story after story. Each of the eleven stories in this compilation is self-contained and has a unique setting and plot.
In “A Drunkard’s Path,” a happy couple receives a prize quilt for a wedding gift. That gift drastically changes their life together. Can a quilt hold a spell dating back to the Salem witch trials?
“Lettie’s Tale” is about a deaf slave girl’s journey to making quilts with codes sewn in that show slaves how to access the trail to freedom. Lettie is in constant danger from her mistress as she sews escape routes in plain sight.
“The Comforter” is set in the time of the Nazis where a group of conspirators work diligently to get Christian passports to Jews to help them travel to safe harbors. In order to get the falsified documents across the city, the passports are sewn into quilts. Danger rises when a quilt falls into the hands of a Nazi.
In “Plague on Both Your Houses,” sparks fly when Mark, a Wall Street financial expert, and Lizzy, a fiber artist, meet. Their families have bad history and are determined to tear them apart. Can their love survive?
Other stories in the collection touch on themes of drug trafficking, cruise ship murder mysteries, and romance. The author’s exceptional knowledge of history, masterfully woven into these well-crafted stories, earned a Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal. In addition to enjoying each tale, these stories also provided me with a refresher course on historical events that have played a significant role in shaping our current world. I highly recommend this wonderful collection!
At first glance, the title SEWING CAN BE DANGEROUS may seem innocently humorous, but when you look into what inspired it, you realize that the collection revolves around a serious issue. The author’s father told her all about the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. According to him, not only was that day horrific—over 140 young women’s lives were lost—but how important that event was because of the building codes that were changed after that.
Riveted by the fate of those hapless immigrant girls, Sarah Mallery set out to flesh out, in her sensual style, her vision of the event, in the short story by that name. “By nightfall the fire has subsided, leaving glowing embers and assuring the firemen of an end in sight. But along with their relief came the dreaded job of scouting for more girls inside the building, and as the searchlight crisscrossed up towards the hollowed floors, an even more gruesome sight was revealed…”
This is historical fiction at its best, where the research into the subject matter enriches the writing without hindering the way you engage with the characters. This is the case with every story of the eleven stories in this collection, with every page, every paragraph: it inspires you to experience the plight of the characters as if you are there with them, and at the same time delight in the beauty of the language. My favorite muse is the muse of literature. Spinning tales takes a fine thread, and skill in sewing. It can be dangerous.
Five stars.
Another amazing work from the talented Sarah Mallery, and I can definitely say that I’m a fan now! The set of short stories, each one different, was brilliantly tied together by a common topic – sewing. Each tells a story of courage, defiance of circumstances, sacrifice, love, fighting against the system and many more, which make you sit and ponder after finishing a story. The hardships of a young Russian-Jewish immigrant trying to support her family working in the almost inhumane conditions in a sewing factory and almost dying in the horrible fire; a German family, risking their own lives in the perilous times of the Nazi regime to help their Jewish compatriots; a talented black slave, striving for freedom through her work; two young people coming from the opposite social niches and defying both society and their parents to be together, and many more similar and extremely important topics, which still resonate with today’s problems we’re facing now, definitely make it a must-read for everyone. I once again applaud Ms. Mallery’s writing style, which both educates and entertains the reader, making us dive into the world of past and live through the eyes of the characters. Highly recommended, meticulously researched and a compelling read! Five stars!
I sew, and my grandfather was an organizer from the ILGWU. As a New Yorker, I’m very familiar with the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire which was a part of the first story, I have passed by the site on many occasions.
It was just one of so many stories that I loved. S.R. Mallery’s story about a pioneer husband jealous of his wife’s quilting may have been in a different time and place, but I certainly related to it. I used to create baby quilts that consisted of four large blocks when he needed a quilt for someone at work, when my skill suddenly became valuable. I would make 12 or 16 large blocks and three or four quilts, so as far as he’s concerned, I was working for something for him.
What I loved about the short stores is that each one reads like a novel you race by, learn about the time and the wonderful characters as much as if you had devoted hundreds of pages to them. Each story was different, original, and a joy to read.
Sewing Can Be Dangerous and Other Small Threads, my first read from author S.R. Mallery, an author I’d wanted to read for some time and hadn’t got around to. I got the Kindle edition back in March of 2016 & when I got the Audible edition I decided it was time. A collection of 11 long-short stories across multiple genres, each well-written in its own right & each could easily be expanded into a longer work. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing. Suzie Althens’s narration adds to the book’s enjoyment. Up next is Tea, Anyone? (A Brooke & Abby Cozy Mystery Book 1) from the same author. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
I rarely buy compilations and it is even rarer that when I do I read the entire book! Honestly I bought this book because of the pic of a car sewing using a sewing machine–I’m pretty sure you saw it at some point-I could not resist. Well I started to read the short stories and found myself intrigued! I read every last one in one sitting!
All the stories had to do with quilting or some type of sewing. They ran the gamut from Salem Witch Trial days and went on from there. I have to say each was enthralling–this author knows how to write a short story that satisfies.
I highly recommend that all read this–and if you are one who hasn’t got the time to read–read one at a time. It will take no time at all!!
Sewing Can Be Dangerous and Other Small Threads is a wonderful anthology of short stories. I found this author’s short stories to be superb islands of literature, while connecting each story to a central theme. Each story is outstanding and completely different from the other. Written with a confident and smooth literary style, Ms. Mallery takes us on eleven varied and heartfelt adventures.
The author writes with passion and historical facts, combining them to drive one on to the next story, and then the next…. Grab this excellent read from a powerful writer.
This book is filled with one great short story after another. I enjoyed it immensely.
This is a well put together collection of stories. This collection is described as short stories, but I think they are a bit longer, more like novellas. Each one has a connection to some sort of sewing. Some have a connection to real historical events and some are modern fiction.
I enjoyed the books. They can be read by anyone.
I listened to an audio version of the book and the narrator did a great job.