Ladies of the Draw-In Room: Ten Stories Weaving a Common Thread

By Sue Ellen Frye

Cotton mills and the villages they spawned are rapidly disappearing from the landscape of the South. Like a time capsule, Ladies of the Draw-In Room captures the lives and times of ten women living in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1414039980
• ISBN13: 9781414039985
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: 1st Book Library
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A disappearing life style

This writer educates us as she weaves a common thread among the lives of very different women and their private struggles in a small southern mill town. The book takes us on a historical trip through a disappearing culture and economy. Although the author depicts the hardships shared, she also lets us experience the communal, supportive spirit that was theirs. The scenes develop vividly so that we actually feel the exhaustion of hard, physical labor as we exit the cotton mill with the rush of workers at the end of a long, hot day. You will know the characters well as she expertly develops them through the series of compelling short stories. When do get to read the sequel? Enjoy!

The Ladies of the Draw-in Room

This book spends one weekend with a of a group of women who work in a southern textile mill. Although their jobs are exhausting and monotonous, their lives are far from that. As we read, we are reminded the everyone is extraordinary in some way. The author impels us to read on, to learn of the life of each woman and how she deals with her unique problems. The strength of this book is the reality of the characters, vividly portrayed by their interaction with those around them. They become real,like people we know or want to know. The prose flows, capturing the mood of the bleakness and sameness of mill village life, but that is not what the reader takes from this book. What we are left with at the end is a knowledge that everyone, not matter how seemingly insignificant, has the ability to cope and overcome unique situations,calling on an inner strength and an admiration of these very strong women. As a North Carolinian, I appreciate that Ms.Frye, through each of these women, has reminded us of the strong ordinary people who made up the industries which became so important to the growth of the country. It's the people, not the mills, who are most important.

Drawn In!

I don't usually read Southern fiction but was pleasantly surprised by this collection of short stories. The author takes each character and defines them in exquisite detail making the reader feel like a fly on the mills' oppressive walls. The plot evolves into a story that Robert Altman would love to put on screen because each tale entwines with the last. This book conveys a glimpse into the bygone days of millworking that could not have been more enjoyable or thought provoking.