Factory Girls (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781643752457)

A funny, fierce, and unforgettable read about a young woman working a summer job in a shirt factory in Northern Ireland, while tensions rise both inside and outside the factory walls.

Winner of the Comedy Women in Print 2022-23 Published Novel Award

It's the summer of 1994, and all smart-mouthed Maeve Murray wants are good final exam results so she can earn her ticket out of the wee Northern Irish town she has grown up in during the Troubles. She hopes she will soon be in London studying journalism--away from her crowded home, the silence and sadness surrounding her sister's death, and most of all, away from the violence of her divided community.

As a first step, Maeve's taken a job in a shirt factory working alongside Protestants with her best friends. But getting the right exam results is only part of Maeve's problem--she's got to survive a tit-for-tat paramilitary campaign, iron 100 shirts an hour all day every day, and deal with the attentions of Handy Andy Strawbridge, her slick and untrustworthy English boss. Then, as the British loyalist marching season raises tensions among the Catholic and Protestant workforce, Maeve realizes something is going on behind the scenes at the factory. What seems to be a great opportunity to earn money turns out to be a crucible in which Maeve faces the test of a lifetime. Seeking justice for herself and her fellow workers may just be Maeve's one-way ticket out of town.

Bitingly hilarious, clear-eyed, and steeped in the vernacular of its time and place, Factory Girls tackles questions of wealth and power, religion and nationalism, and how young women maintain hope for themselves and the future during divided, violent times.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Royal Society of Literature Encore Award (for second novels) and the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize


Author: Michelle Gallen
ISBN-10: 1643752456
ISBN-13: 9781643752457
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Language: English
Published: 11/29/2022
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.56lbs
Size: 8.14h x 5.81w x 0.68d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 07/01/2022 pg. 5
Library Journal 08/01/2022 pg. 88
Kirkus Reviews 09/15/2022
Publishers Weekly 09/19/2022
Booklist 10/01/2022 pg. 23
Shelf Awareness 12/16/2022