Customer Reviews

The Florabama Ladies' Auxiliary & Sewing Circle

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Having never read Lois Battle, her newest tome is my first adventure into her writing. I will now go back and look for other titles she has written.

Do I recommend this story of middle-age women struggling to survive? Absolutely! The spirit of the displaced homemakers from Cherished Lady lingerie's now closed plant is led by an unlikely cultured and privileged lady, Bonnie Duke Cullman. Bonnie also finds herself in this displaced homemaker category, but for a much different reason: bankruptcy and divorce.

Rescued by her family connections, her daddy Duke is rich and influential, Bonnie finds work as a job counselor in tiny Florabama's junior college. It is there, with the help of her long time friend Cass that Bonnie also finds herself.

The Cherished Lady ex-employees comprise a mix of hard-working, down-on-their-luck seamstresses who have a new opportunity to go to college and learn the skills to get new jobs. Of course they must do this while drawing unemployment, raising their grandchildren, resisting their spouses attempts to keep them down, caring for disabled spouses and dysfunctional adult children. They are a colorful and realistic set of characters who grow on the reader.

Key to the plot are the women: Hilly, Ruth, Roxy, Albertine, Lyda Jane and Celia. Key to the women's lives are the emotional baggage they have accumulated by living and the individual tastes for life that both bring them together and separate them. Their small town plant has given them earning power and a sense of community. With its closing, as the plant owners seek cheaper labor in Mexico, they are at the mercy of a world that looks for education in its future employees. Their lives have to be upgraded and the local college has a government grant to provide that upgrade.

While one cannot help but laugh over the spirited and straight shooting expressions of Hilly, this novel also reflects the heartbreaks and disappointments that represent the dark side of the characters' lives. This is also a love story, the story of Bonnie with Riz, Cass with Mark, Hilly with Jess. Each partnership takes a different road, with the women coming out stronger and less dependent on romance or sex or men.

Bonnie is the protagonist: the divorced mom of grown, spoiled children, the daughter of wealth, the step-daughter of a restless, mouthy step-mom. First, she surprizes herself by learning to respect and love her displaced Florabama homemakers. Then she surprizes herself by realizing that independence is a good thing. Furthermore, she surprizes herself with her own entrepreneurial abilities. She lives through her time in Florabama and emerges realistically triumphant.

The love of friends is important in Battle's story: the love of Cass and Bonnie, and Hilly and Ruth. Author Battle understands that women do not have it easy in a man's world, but that they can survive and rise above life's challenges. This is a positive, can't-put-it-down read. Brava!

I have been a Lois Battle "fan" for many years, and although I have enjoyed reading each of her novels, without reservation the "Florabama Ladies" is her best. To my good fortune, a local independent bookstore owner,seeking a genuine response, shared her advance copy . To summarize my reaction in simple terms, I could not put it down once I started it--emotional, truthful, and sprinkled with wit and wisdom.

The "ladies" represent the dilemma facing many dedicated working women caught within the boundaries of a "down-sizing-for-profit" business mentality, and the reality of survival. Each woman has her unique array of personal problems, coupled with trying to pursue a new occupation in today's competitive workforce.

Ms. Battle is a natural "storyteller", who smoothly captures her readers and carefully places them into the action. The story-line presents itself in such a way that one can easily recognize one of her characters, or identify with personally.

The Florabama Ladies' Auxiliary & Sewing Circle is not just a story, but a journey. I highly recommend this intriguing modern novel to those who appreciate a captivating well-written story. Certainly one I intend to purchase for my personal bookshelf and for friends.

Before writing this review, I read all of the reviews previously written, and was horrified by the arrant snobbery of SOME of the reviewers. These, in particular, were Southern readers whose opinions left me flabbergasted by their narrowness of mind in condemming the factory workers who were left jobless by the closure of the factory in which they worked. One reviewer even suggested that these women, uneducated as they were, would never be capable of belonging to a quilting bee. Happily I know that this attitude is completely false having spent time recently as a guest of a number of Southern ladies who would be totally horrified to learn of attitudes like this.The female workers of a recently closed lingerie factory band together with the help of a recently divorced counsellor who is suffering from the shock and disillusionment of finding out that she now has to make her own way in the world--in her late 40's--as her husband became bankrupt and took off with a younger woman.Over the course of a year, these women learn not only how to support themselves, but also how how to gain strength and courage from mutual encouragement. I truly believe that this is a wonderfully inspiring book and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Southern Belle. The words conjured up thoughts of genteel, tea-sipping ladies or feisty harridans the likes of Scarlett O'Hara. But these days, southern women are a rich combination of both sets of characteristics, and excellent examples of this can be found in Lois Battle's new book, "The Florabama Ladies Auxiliary and Sewing Circle."

Atlanta socialite Bonnie Duke Cullman has come to a life-altering crossroads in her life. Her husband has run out on her for a younger woman. To add insult to injury, he has also spent their life's savings and filed for bankruptcy. Accustomed since birth to a country club existence, she has never done a "real" day's work in her life. So, for the first time in her life, 50-year old Bonnie is facing life alone and financially strapped.

Hope for Bonnie comes in the form of a position at a tiny community college in Florabama, Alabama. The Cherished Lady lingerie factory is being closed down, and the college hires Bonnie to run its program for displaced homemakers and workers. In a blind-leading-the-blind proposition, Bonnie is supposed to help the women, many who had never known another job, figure out what to do with the rest of their lives. She starts out by gathering them into a weekly group session to help everyone air their opinions and concerns, and begins to learn just how hard "real" life is for these women.

Determined to help the ladies better their lives, Bonnie calls upon friends from her former life to help them set up a cottage industry using their skills as seamstresses to design a line of unique children's clothes. The project is a huge success, but teeters on the brink of disaster when one of their own runs off with their first big paycheck. But with resolve and resilience that surprises even the most skeptical in the group, the women regroup and come back to prove they are capable of overcoming the odds to be victorious.

Author Lois Battle has gathered a delightful group of women in this heartwarming tale. In sharing their stories, the "Ladies" form a delightful patchwork quilt of characters. There's patient, saintly Ruth, who has always wanted to be a teacher; the hot-tempered, slightly bigoted Hilly who finds the second love of her life in a Mexican restaurant; and Roxy, the irresponsible young mother who takes anything she can get, as long as it doesn't involve work. But the star of the story is Bonnie, who proves to herself that she is capable of overcoming her own obstacles to find a happier life and, in doing so, develops a healthy respect for herself. She even finds a little love along the way.

"The Florabama Ladies Auxiliary and Sewing Circle" provides a genuine glimpse into the lives of modern-day southern women. Don't be surprise to find there is a little tea-sipping Scarlett in each of these resilient ladies.

Lois Battle, with the engaging "Florabama Ladies," continues that favorite American genre: Southern women, or at least women who talk "Southern," winning against the odds. Ms. Battle's "Florabama" sits on my shelf next to its sister novels, which have proven a good reading list for our local book club's discussions: Fannie Flagg's "Fried Green Tomatoes," Rita Mae Brown's "Rubyfruit Jungle," Allan Gurganus' "Oldest Living Confederate Widow," Jack Fritscher's "The Geography of Women: A Romantic Comedy," as well as "Ya Ya Sisterhood," etc. I really enjoy novels that show how we arrive at our identities and a deeper understanding of self and community, especially when humor trumps politics, and good writing triumphs in the "moral heart" of small towns. Hollywood can't make these books into movies fast enough for me. That's okay. I love the way these authors spin words out on the page. Lois Battle is a remarkable writer in a genre that always entertains.

Just as Ross Perot warned, that "great sucking sound" is the sound of the jobs of the Cherished Lady garment factory heading south of the border. In a story that could have been taken from the evening news, Lois Battle tells the tale of the "lintheads" (the floor level factory workers) and their struggles to survive the closing of the lingerie factory that had been the center of their lives.

In the hands of a lesser author, this book would have focused on the corporate intrigue and legal maneuvering leading to the closing, but Battle gets up close and personal and intimately involves the reader in the lives of the women affected by the closing. The central character, around whom the stories of these women are woven, is Bonnie Duke Cullman, a middle aged Southern lady, whose life has been changed by a closing of a different sort - the end of her long-term marriage.

Bonnie is put in charge of a community college program to help the displaced workers move on with their lives. This is quite a challenging task for someone whose work experience had been limited to fund raising for charities. By helping others, however, Bonnie helps herself and transcends the burdens of family and fate.

Lois Battle has the ear of and actor (which she was before turning her talents to writing) but, more importantly, she listens with her heart and crafts characters who are alive and delivers dialogue that rings true. This is a book to be read slowly so the words can be savored like a fine wine.

As with all good books, you cannot help but wornder what happens next to the characters. It doesn't get much better than that. Highly recommended.

I was intrigued by the charming title and cozy cover picture; however, after reading the book, I felt disappointed and mislead.

I expected to read about ladies from varied backgrounds, sharing a common talent (perhaps sewing?), exchanging life stories and learning life lessons with touching heartbreak and humor.

Instead, I found myself reading a somber - sometimes preachy - story centered upon a vapid account of a woman's life following a divorce.

The character development is slow, stale, and lacks the depth one would expect to find in a novel spanning an impressive 358 pages.

Many of those pages are spent perpetuating Southern stereotypes and cliches. Contrary to the title, the entire group of characters rarely come together except for a couple of brief meetings, and the "sewing circle" consumes approximately one chapter.

Bonnie and the ladies are from different ends of the culture spectrum. When they are thrown together by circumstance, there is no exchange of wisdom or experience as one may expect. The relationship interaction between the ladies is superficial and leaves the reader unfulfilled. It almost felt as though the author "bit of more than she could chew" in the number of characters she introduced. In fact, some of the characters that peak the interest of the reader inexplicably fade from the story, are written out of the novel altogether, or are introduced too late.

Overall, I was left with a lack of closure. When I completed the book, I actually wondered if I may have accidentally picked up the first novel of a series.

With the painstaking attention paid to scenery, characters' facial expressions and actions, the novel reads much like a screenplay.

The idea has marvelous "chick flick" potential: In the right hands, these characters may someday spring to life in an enjoyable movie.

This is a story about a group of women in Florabama, Alabama who are laid off from the sewing plant when management decides to close up. It's a very scary time because most of the women have worked there for many years and have no other skills. Management arranges with the local college for a program to help them learn new skills so they can get new jobs. Bonnie, a newly-divorced mother of two grown children, is hired by the college to sort through the problems and help the women with their goals. Bonnie comes from a background of wealth, while the factory workers have lived in poverty. Brought together, they begin to learn from each other.
I really liked this book. The main characters are believable and loveable, even the grumpy ones. There's a lot to be gained as we travel along with the ladies, overcoming hardships and learning to love those who are different from ourselves. I like to underline passages and phrases that teach me things. Such as:
"What you can't cure, you must endure."
"It's remarkable how much you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit." (Harry Truman)
"Sometimes telling the truth was just an excuse for meanness."
There were a few minor problems with character development. I felt that there were some characters that were brought up for no apparent reason. For example, Bonnie's landlord was described in all his slimy, despicable glory, and I fully expected him to surface later on, being menacing and demanding, but you never hear from him again, except a brief mention at the end. Likewise, a man from Bonnie's past suddenly shows up and they become lovers, but nothing really becomes of it. I suppose his purpose was to show that Bonnie had grown and was no longer dependent on a man for her happiness and well-being.
I don't think that this book was anti-men, but I identified closely with the theme that the women helped each other through everything that they went through. I find this to be true in my own life, where my friends and I help each other through things, especially emotionally.

Good reading after a long, dry spell of finding books a bit blah. Holds your interest from the first, which is a must for me. Sometimes southern-subject books put me off, but this one is one of those that you'd wish there'd be a sequel to. I'd like to know what eventually happens to Bonnie, Hillie, Ruth, and I'd like to know whether Roxy ever got what was coming to her! Read it just for a relaxing, readable book.

The Florabama Ladies' Auxiliary and Sewing Circle by Lois Battle follows the lives of various women impacted by the closing of the Cherished Lady lingerie factory. Bonnie Duke Cullman arrives in Florabama, Alabama leaving behind a failed marriage, children in college. Her comfortable life of counrty clubs, stay at home mom, charity events, and being the daughter of "the Duke" all turned upside down, and she is off to her first real job, counseling "displaced" homemakers.She is going to be working out of Marion Hawkins Community College. The women who have been displaced (or made redundent)are struggling with their own problems. Hilly Pruitt has just bought a new car and she is also worried that her best friend Ruth Elkins is being taken advantage of by her wayward daughter, Roxie. Ruth has her hands full with helping out with Roxie's kids, and cannot see how her coworker Celia Lusk sees a divine hand in all the hardship. This is a tale of women coming together in times of hardship. The realization that they are all more alike than different, no matter social standing, background, education is the binding tie for these women. Battle is never patronizing and advoids the temptation to tie everything up in a neat happy package. Written with a fine tuned ear for Southern dialogue and an evenhanded tone, the ladies of the Florabama are friends you will come to cherish.