Spindle City

I absolutely adored this book. The characters were so real that it sucked you in and made you feel a part of the story. You didn't want it to end!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. The characters are immediately real and distinct. And the sense of time and place is very convincing. Well done.

This story brings a historical background for a city once prospering from textile mills and now facing union strikes. But for most of the part this is a moving story of a father, who after losing his wife, struggles to keep his family together.

Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1911 is celebrating one hundred years of being America’s “largest cotton manufacturing city in the country.” The owners are very proud of it and pretty sure that the city will have another centennial celebration.

Joseph Bartlett is one of the owners, which happened by accident. He sympathizes with labor, which doesn’t put him in a good position with other owners. Now, his wife passes away and at the same time his older son assaults a young woman. And later, he notices his younger son being diverted in the wrong direction by his friend’s daughter.

On a sunny August day, Sarah Strong, a suffragist, approaches Joseph as he understands, unlike his peers, that the hardships at the mills don’t need to be endured. He knows her name well. At the age of seventeen, her mother dies working at textile mill. Sarah uses her mother’s savings to go to college. Once with degree, her career options are very limited. Upon learning about impending strike, this puts her on a path “to labor terrorism” as seen by some, “depending on your point of view.” She is the Robin Hood of union organizing for others.

She convinces him to show him something first before presenting her proposal to him. She takes him to the worst of the worst mill’s boardinghouses and tenements routinely sited with health violations. He is enlightened that the abuse doesn’t stop with mill’s conditions; it extends to young girls being abused by their bosses. “When they announce they’re pregnant, they get dumped, and blackballed.” She presents her proposal and asks him to open his books. This way putting pressure on others. Having two sets of books is a common practice, one with true numbers, the other for officials to show there is not enough profit to pay higher wages. She wants him to improve the conditions of all workers, thus giving him legacy.

This was the moment I was waiting for in this story such character as Sarah Strong. She is a phenomenal character giving the story the richness of historical background I wanted to see. And I kept waiting and waiting for her appearance again, but it never came.

Then the story goes back in time, revealing Joseph’s career’s climb and connecting him with the names presented at the beginning of the story. Which certainly is very engaging.

This story is mostly concentrated on Joseph and his two sons. It is a touching portrayal of a human being, a father, who makes his share of mistakes. He acknowledges that he never had the patience to sit with the boys and look for example what Hollister was drawing, which later turned out to be a talent for military mapping. He provided well for his sons, but at the same time didn’t want them to feel privileged. Thus, he never hired nannies or a butler. He wanted them to be well-grounded and humble as he himself came from humble beginnings. And hoped that one day, one of them would take over the family business.

The story is vividly presented, you can feel what the father and each son go through, their pain and humiliation.

Even though, the story didn’t bring the historical background I was looking for, I still have to give credit for how well this story is crafted.

A great story with a great cast of characters. It's engrossing, entertaining and you cannot help being sucked in it.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

In Spindle City, Jotham Burrello provides an unusual take on American history—the dramatization of an early 20th century industrial town at the height of its success as the lives of some of its residents spin out of control.

Using the historic nickname of Fall River, Massachusetts at a time when the number of spindles in a cotton mill indicated its productivity and potential profit, Burrello thrusts readers headlong into what may well have been the town’s greatest moment—the 1911 Cotton Centennial.

As visiting President Taft delivers his much-anticipated speech, Cleveland Mill’s Joseph Bartlett—a man haunted by secrets--stands with other local business leaders who had served with him on the centennial committee. Carnation wreaths and American flags adorn every building on the block, young women toss confetti, and the din of bands, singing Portuguese immigrant boys, and cheering crowds with noisemakers replaces the usual roar of a hundred and eleven cloth producing mills silenced for this one jubilant day.

Amid the joyous revelry, all hell breaks loose for Joseph Bartlett. He, his family, and Fall River will never be the same.

As the descendant of Fall River townsfolk, Jotham Burrello heard stories. He has spun those “stories of triumph and tragedy” into his narrative.

Although I worked to understand occasional business conversations, Burrello easily captivated me with his vivid language, dramatic plotline, and the diversity of his characters—rich and poor, ruthless and humane, native-born and immigrant. They comprised historic Fall River, and they propel his novel. Spindle City grabbed my attention and never let go. It educated me about a little-known industry and a community I had known only as the place where Lizzie Borden took and axe and gave her mother forty whacks.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and Jotham Burrello for the advance reader copy of Spindle City.

4.5 stars

This family saga set in Fall River is really the story of Joseph Bartlett, who, in a sense, failed up so that in 1911, he's the chief of the Cleveland Mill. And his life is a mess. His sons Will and Hollister have issues, his wife Elizabeth is dying and while he's aware of the dreadful conditions his workers endure, he does little to nothing about them. There are a lot of characters in this novel- perhaps to give the reader the panoply of people involved in the manufacturing- but few besides Joseph Stand ou. Chief among these is Sarah, a union organizer. I would have liked to see more of her woven into the story. It's an interesting read. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. For fans of historical fiction.

I originally got interested in getting an advanced reading copy of this novel after noticing in the description that it was set in Fall River, MA. I live in Southern New England and have long been fascinated by the history of some of the cities around here: Fall River, New Bedford, Newport etc. Many of them had their heyday over a hundred years ago and we can see the evidence of their past grandeur even today: from rows of former factory buildings in Falls River, to the whaling history of New Bedford, to palatial mansions of Newport.

Set against the backdrop of textile manufacturing in Fall River in early 1900s, the story at its core is a family drama. Joseph Bartlett manages the Cleveland Mill. We follow the story of his rise to power, his personal tragedy, parenting difficulties and struggles with doing what is right for thousands of workers that are in his employ.

Burrello gives a great snapshot of the city during the time when it rivaled Boston and Chicago due to its thriving textile industry. Thousands of immigrants came to Fall River chasing their American dream. In 1911 President Taft visited the city during the Cotton Centennial celebration. Burrello gives us a glimpse into the lives of the very wealthy and the very poor. He also paints the larger historic background with the suffragist movement, unionizations, and World War I. I also thought he did a great job outlining the causes of the industrial decline in New England. The mills of Falls River simply could not compete with the lower costs of production in the South.

Even though I really enjoyed the historical aspects of the novel, I was also completely engrossed in the Bartletts' family drama. The novel is filled with memorable characters and their nuanced stories. Overall, this was a great read. I would say Burrello wrote a love letter to Fall River, or at least to its history. I devoured the book in 2 days and highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.