The Florabama Ladies Auxiliary & Sewing Circle

  by Lois Battle

Reviewed by Jennifer West

The   Florabama   Ladies' Auxiliary & Sewing Circle (Viking, 2001) begins with endings . The women workers of the "Cherished Lady" lingerie factory of Florabama , Ala., learn abruptly they are losing their jobs as the television news cameras greet them at the door. While they struggle to come to terms with their lost jobs and income, Bonnie Cullman is heading south to Florabama to take on the first job she has had in 25 years - a job at the local community college to assist these angry, displaced home- makers and workers in going back to school and deciding what to do with the rest of their lives as the factory moves to Mexico.

  Recently divorced from her spendthrift husband. Bonnie is adjusting to a new life alone. As she battles her less-than-cooperative staff, Bonnie learns to appreciate the strengths of these "cherished ladies" in their struggles to make ends meet and sup- port their children, and often grandchildren, as they return to the classroom after years away. She is even able to use her ties to her former privileged life in setting up an arrangement for them to use their sewing skills to produce girls clothing to be sold by a friend of hers who operates an up-scale clothing shop.

  The chapters of the novel switch back and forth between the three main characters :  Bonnie, who realizes she cannot blame her husband for their financial troubles; gentle Ruth who had dreamed of once becoming a teacher and sees her opportunity to make that dream come true; and him. angry Hilly who grieves for her lost husband and sees no need for any education beyond learning to drive a truck. A few characters seem to disappear without resolution. Bonnie' s surprise and dismay at learning her influential father had gotten her the job at the community college is puzzling - she had no experience to merit it on her own . The story does not end predictably or neatly tied up but with a realistic and somewhat hopeful conclusion. Near the end, Ruth sits on her house steps beneath the full moon and sees herself as being more than just an unemployed grandmother . She is also a special part of God's universe. Anything is possible.

  The story and characters should appeal to lovers of Anne Rivers Siddon’s novels . Lois Battle's seven previous novels include Bed and Breakfast, Storyville , War Brides and A Habit of the Blood. She lives in Beaufort, S.C

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