Bobbin Up (Virago Modern Classics) - Softcover

One night in 1958, Sputnik is visible in the Australian night sky. Throughout that night Bobbin Up takes us into the lives of a group of women who work at the Jumbuck Woollen Mills in Sydney. We step into the deplorable working conditions of the factory and immediately feel their frustration at the lack of time or energy or money to live beyond the bare necessities. At the mill, the "unspoken policy" is to create tension and resentment between the day and night shifts. If they're fighting each other they don't complain about the harsh conditions: no hot water, old machinery, no respect from the bosses. Betty has worked at the mill for eighteen years - she has her own routine and doesn't want to be bothered with the troubles of the others. Nell, an active Communist, is awakened by her husband as Sputnik passes overhead. He's been fired and she wonders, now what? The older of two sisters in the mill worries about the younger one: "How can she know right from wrong? I ought to have been a better mother to her." Overnight their lives change. The next day, for "legitimate capitalist" reasons, some women are fired, some are given fewer hours, none can afford less work. Will they rise together against yet another injustice thrust upon them? Based on the author's experience of working in textile mills, the story of these proud women resounds with the truths of life, friendship, and work. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Holly Smith