The Garment Maker’s Daughter is a multigenerational saga of immigrant dreams and sweatshop realities, labor strikes and women’s rights. It is the story of Lena Rothman, a shirtwaist-maker and active suffragette whose plans get derailed when she falls in love with her best friend’s boyfriend; Jake Brenner, a passionate labor organizer determined to lead the shirtwaist-makers on a high-stakes … strike; and Daniel Cowan, a brilliant and ambitious night-school student hobbled by a shameful past.
Fate draws them together. Emotions bind them to each other. But secrets will tear them apart. When a devastating blaze engulfs the shirtwaist factory, Lena must fight for her life. And in the chaos of the fire’s aftermath, mistakes will be made with consequences that continue into the next generation.
Spanning the first half of the twentieth century, this is a story about unforgettable characters and the threads of friendship, love, betrayal, and redemption that form the fabric of their lives. FAns of Adriana Trigiani, Kristin Hannah, and Christine Baker Kline, will love The Garment Maker’s Daughter. It’s that rare novel you’ll be thinking about long after you’ve finished it.
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Nice story but predictable
I almost didn’t even read the book after about page 50. I thought it was a bit formulaic and decided to just start skimming (a sure sign of my disinterest) but read a bit more and got caught up in the story. Lots of heroes here.
Very slow read with not much happening
Well written and perceptive
Kind of depressing
The book was ok. I didn’t feel the writer gave me enough character development. You get a chapter of one character then the next chapter is about another character but set maybe 4 years ahead, then the next chapter is about another character but, again, many years down the road, goes back to what you presume is one of the main characters maybe 12 yeas later, and continues in this style the first 3/4ths of the book. What? What’s the seemingly main character been doing the the past 12 years? Rushing through decades of life with glimpses here and there of the main characters is unsettling and doesn’t give me time to buy into any particular characters life.
By the time the author settles down rushing through the decades to get to what I presume was meat of the storyline, I didn’t appreciate the main female character or her choices. I realize a good story typically has conflict, but get me to first like the main characters and don’t skip over decades of their lives.
Really enjoyed this book! The story spanned decades following the characters until their paths cross again. Kept me wanting to continue reading. Loved this book!
Loved it.
Intriguing and sometimes mysterious
I loved the history of this story. It took me a few chapters to get into it but i was hooked once I began to know the characters. Really interesting and based on true events which is nice.
I didn’t like this book. There is no HEA.
The blurb on this book is misleading. It could (should) have been a riveting social history of a significant period in American history, but instead was just a family saga. An okay read nonetheless.
Sort of slow to develop.
Plot line thin at times. Some character development lacks credibility. In fact, an entire generation of the immigrant experience seems to be missing. There are also some glaring anachonisms; e.g. people did not get “Jet lagged” shortly after WWII.
Although it was informative about the clothing factories/union of this period, the book was very repetitive, with not enough interest to hold my interest. I would rate it three stars.
Too much romance, not enough history
I simply could not get into the story so didn’t even read 5 chapters.
just couldn’t get in to it and there were a lot of editing errors. I read up to chapter 9 and then the last three chapters. Entire middle wasn’t needed to get the whole story.
Enjoyed reading.
I enjoyed this book very much, it was sad and funny and a good escape!