All Waiting Is Long

By Barbara J. Taylor

"Powerful...Every page is saturated with the 1930s milieu as the sisters navigate the adversities of their reality on a sea rough with the unrealistic expectations of well-intended idealists both religious and secular. As if to highlight those expectations, Taylor periodically interrupts her third-person narrative with Greek chorus-type commentary from the Scranton-based Isabelle Lumley Bible Class, including excerpts from a 1929 sex manual for women. The overall result is a thought-provoking book club discussion cornucopia."
--Booklist, Starred review

"Set in the 1930s, Taylor's suspenseful and intricate follow-up to Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night tells the story of sisters Violet and Lily Morgan...Taylor delivers startling plot twists and incisive commentary on the social unrest of a coal-mining town during the Great Depression. Covering a six-year span, the novel reveals the consequences of arduous labor and widespread sterilizations that came with the eugenics movement. Among the prostitutes, mobsters, and miners is a web of interconnected lives that come together for a breathtaking ending in Taylor's fine sequel."
--Publishers Weekly

"A good selection for book clubs, All Waiting Is Long is set in Pennsylvania coal country in the 1930s, a time of tumultuous change and social unrest, including the rise of the eugenics movement. Barbara Taylor's characters--a cast of nuns and prostitutes, mobsters and miners, social activists and church busybodies--reflect the varying pressures and expectations of small-town life with rich, insightful prose and dialogue that rings true to each character's voice. Will the web of lies the two sisters weave around themselves survive? You''ll have to read it yourself to find out. Recommended."
--Historical Novel Review

"Barbara J. Taylor has created another suspenseful page-turner . . . revealing shocking details of enlightened thinking in the 1930s against the backdrop of political corruption, unions, rampant prostitution, coal mine strikes, and judgmental Christians. But it's Taylor's finely honed characters and plot twists that make All Waiting Is Long an unforgettable novel."
--BookMark on WPSU

"In this richly populated community, old ties are either torn or tightened, and the characters left behind when the sisters went off are nicely fleshed out...Ms. Taylor writes with total mastery of her craft. Her similes and metaphors are born of a highly developed abstractive sensitivity, and her dialogues are unerringly true to their respective speakers."
--BookPleasures

The latest novel in Akashic's Kaylie Jones Books imprint.

All Waiting Is Long tells the stories of the Morgan sisters, a study in contrasts. In 1930, twenty-five-year-old Violet travels with her sixteen-year-old sister Lily from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to the Good Shepherd Infant Asylum in Philadelphia, so Lily can deliver her illegitimate child in secret. In doing so, Violet jeopardizes her engagement to her longtime sweetheart, Stanley Adamski. Meanwhile, Mother Mary Joseph, who runs the Good Shepherd, has no idea the asylum's physician, Dr. Peters, is involved in eugenics and experimenting on the girls with various sterilization techniques.

Five years later, Lily and Violet are back home in Scranton, one married, one about to be, each finding her own way in a place where a woman's worth is tied to her virtue. Against the backdrop of the sweeping eugenics movement and rogue coal mine strikes, the Morgan sisters must choose between duty and desire. Either way, they risk losing their marriages and each other.

The novel picks up sixteen years after the close of Barbara J. Taylor's debut novel, Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night--a Publishers Weekly Best Summer Book of 2014--and continues her Dickensian exploration of the Morgan

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kaylie Jones Books
• Release date: Jun 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9781617754661

Reviews for All Waiting Is Long

[bibliophileofalls · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a good book although definitely a chick-lit (not necessarily a bad thing). It explored many issues including poor working conditions in mining, horrible attitudes of pregnancy outside of marriage and single mothers thought of as lower class people. I found it a little unbelievable that Violet would let Stanley believe Lily's baby was hers and not really even try to explain. Then there's the question of just why Violet felt she needed to accompany Lily to the home for unwed mothers. . Having a sister with a pregnant prospective mother was undoubtedly very unusual. Once there, she seemed to not spend any time with Lily, preferring to spend all her time in the nursery with the newborn babies. If she had not accompanied Lily, perhaps Lily would have grown up a bit and matured into a less spoiled self-centered person. And Violet could have had a life with Stanley, a man much more suited to her personality wise. But, then there wouldn't have been as much of a story. I did like the book in spite of my previous comments. It just seemed a bit contrived. I did not feel compelled to keep reading but did finish it.

[brenda63_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After reading Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night, I couln't wait to get my hand on this novel. I was anxious to pick up on the stories of Violet, Lily, Stanley, and their families. I have to say I was very disappointed. While the story was still interesting it didn't captivate me the way Sing in the Morning did. It seems as if Stanley lost all his sense and Lily never obtained any. Violet ever the protector keeps all the seams together and finds true love in the end, this is good she deserves it.

[faceinbook · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Let me start by saying that I appreciated the historical setting of this novel and I thought the writing was very well done. The story of the girls and the hardships of a life in mining was well done. This book would make a good read for a group discussion. The reason for the three and a half star rating is personal. I have read many books this year and having done so influences my perspective on any given book. Ms Taylor is a good writer and I am sure she will have a following. I would not be opposed to reading her first novel. I think most readers would thoroughly enjoy this novel. It just isn't something I can fairly give a 4 or 5 star rating.

[renaemcbrian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I could only read about half of this book before the emotions took over and I had to stop. I almost never only read half of a book, but this book just hit too close to home for me. It's extremely interesting and very well written, it just not for me.

[kikoa_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm 73 and " All Waiting is Long" took me back to a time that we were not allowed to wear patten leather shoes because they reflected otur underwear, young ladies 'went away' only to return after their mysterious visit quieter and sadder. I often hear people say it was a gentler time. Things went on in those gentler times that were unknown and worse than. I found Barbara Taylor's words engaging and discriptive. Thank you Librarythings for my copy.

[jhoaglin-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although this book is written as a sequel, it works well as a stand-alone. Set in 1930's Scranton, Pa, the story tells of a young girl, 16 year old Lily, and her older sister, Violet, who leave Scranton for Philadelphia, under the pretense of helping an aunt move. In reality, Lily is pregnant, and has been accepted at the Good Shepherd Infant Asylum, in order to live the last three months of her pregnancy, deliver her baby, and place it in the hands of an adoptive family. Lily is immature and wants to just get this chapter of her life behind her. Violet, on the other hand, struggles greatly with her sister's decision-making, and choices. And unbeknownst to the nuns who run the asylum, the doctor who attends the deliveries is secretly sterilizing all the young women once they deliver, as part of the practice of Eugenics. From Philadelphia the story moves ahead 5 years, back in Scranton, where both sisters are married,leading very different lives. The story moves to embrace many of the issues of the 1930;s, including the coal mining industry, the labor movement, prostitution, prohibition, among more personal issues for both Lily and Violet. The story of these two young women was engaging, and the historical context within which the story is set made this an even more enjoyable read. Learning that the author lives in Scranton, and is a teacher in a school system there, only added to the credibility, and my interest in this story.

[daffydownd1lly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story takes place in the 1930's in Scranton PA where coal mining is the major employment. It follows the lives of two sisters who have very differing goals and outlooks on life. The story is great at discussing the morals of the times and the way discretions are dealt with in society. The story of the coal miners and their struggle for fair wages and working conditions was interesting although I wish there was more of it. Only because I crave history!! That is the reason behind my 4 stars. The writing was fantastic. I didn't want to put the book down.

[phonelady61 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I received this book for an honest review so here it is . I'm sorry I did not like this book nor did I love this book . I lost interest in it half way through . I feel asleep one night while reading it . I have never fallen asleep while reading a book I'm sorry but this was boring and put me to sleep a book has never quite done that to me before .

[nana50-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I won this book as part of the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.When I saw that it was a sequel, I quickly found the first book to read first. While they are both good stand alone books, I was glad to have more detailed background on the characters.I became attached to the characters from the start....Violet who spent her life trying to prove to all (especially herself) that she was a strong and good person and made the ultimate sacrifice. Lily, her spoiled little sister who was raised in the shadow of a dead sister. Stanley was the guy I thought would get the girl. The author did such a wonderful job transforming this guy through the hardships the mining life gave him as well as personal tragedy. There were a number of twists and turns that had me gasp out loud and I was pretty surprised about where the story took me sometimes. The underlying love story is what touched me most in the end. I stayed up way too late finishing this book but it was worth every single lost minute of sleep.

[laytonwoman3rd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read Barbara J. Taylor's first novel, [Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night] a couple months ago. I loved it for its characters, its style and its setting in my adopted home city of Scranton, PA. Her second novel picks up about 16 years later with the same main character and a whole new set of personal challenges, and it's just as satisfying.Violet Morgan has risen above the guilt she felt as a child over the death of her older sister, Daisy, partly as a result of taking on much of the responsibility of raising her new baby sister, Lily, in the face of their mother's emotional illness and their father's progressive work-related physical decline. Lily has been no easy charge. Spoiled from birth, and reckless with it, she now finds herself "in the family way" at 16, and being shuttled off to a Philadelphia home for unwed mothers, accompanied by Violet. Ostensibly, the girls are leaving Scranton to spend some time with their newly married aunt in Buffalo, to help her set up housekeeping. This is only the first of many deceptions, most of them equally well-intentioned, that move this story along. Naturally, secrets are found out, misunderstandings go unresolved, coincidences lead to revelations...everything you might expect to find in a good Dickens novel, in a tighter, more page-turning style. Again, the characters are well drawn, local history is incorporated almost seamlessly into the story, and nothing is quite predictable. Some larger historical events play a role here as well, as we learn about some positive medical advances, the unsavory beginnings of the eugenics movement, and internal disputes in labor organizations. Not Great Literature, but darned good reading. And I hope Ms. Taylor has another one incubating

[lauriebrown54 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This novel focuses on two sisters, 25 year old Violet and 16 year old Lily. They aren’t very much like each other; Lily is the cossetted girl who gets what she wants, while Violet basically brought Lily up when her mother had a breakdown many years long. Having been blamed for the death of a third sister when they were children, she puts her own desires below those of other people. So it’s not too unusual that the opening of the book finds her going to a home for unwed mothers with Lily to take care of her until Lily’s child is born. Violet’s life hasn’t been devoted solely to Lily and her parents; she has a secret fiancé. Keeping Lily’s secret creates a problem with him. When Violet cannot bear to have Lily’s daughter be adopted out, she takes the fall for Lily and pretends it’s her child. As one can expect in 1930, an unwed mother is a complete outcast. It’s a story of complicated relationships and secrets. I really liked Violet; Lily was a different matter. She always thought she deserved whatever she wanted, and I don’t care for that in people! What’s worse is that the attitude is so persistent, even when she finds that getting what you want might not be the best thing for you. Violet and Lily are characters with depth, and I loved the descriptions of their lives in the ‘30s; the author really paid attention to details. It’s a slow start, but it’s worth the wait. It’s an intricate mesh of relationships, lies, union activism, organized crime, holier than thou church members, black lung, and more. A really engaging read.

[shuffy2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lily and Violet are sisters and are nothing alike, they may have been born nine year apart but it is more than just age that separates the two….1930: Violet joins her sixteen year old sister as she is sent to have her baby in secret at the Good Shepherd Infant Asylum…. Yet it is Violet who returns to Scranton with child-in-hand. What will her decision mean for her future? How will her fiancé react to her sudden motherhood? Violet’s unwillingness to leave the child behind and her refusal to tell the truth about the origin of her ‘daughter’ set the stage for years of heartbreak and unrequited love. Page turner! There is so much more to this story than the mystery baby…. every decision has repercussions and it is only a matter of time before one realizes the lasting effects of a single moment in time. While the topic is heavy it was a quick read and I enjoyed the story from beginning until end… would recommend!