Fiction Pick of the Week: Factory Voice

This past Tuesday marked International Women's Day, so we thought it only appropriate to showcase some of our works on womens' issues. The first is a novel about four women working in a military aircraft factory during World War II.

The Factory Voice by Jeannette Lynes 2009

This story has something for everyone: strong female characters, Canadian setting, fast-moving plot, aviation and engineering, war time, fugitives, a cranky old pilot, romance and intrigue. It is fun!

With a wad of bills stuffed into a cherry jar, Audrey runs away from her parents and the threat of marriage to a boy she calls, Clabber-face. With a one-way ticket to Fort William-Port Arthur, she folds herself into a train seat near a lady with spectacles poring over some papers on her lap. Little does Audrey know they are both going to the same place and will one day become important in each other’s lives. Along with wire-haired Audrey, the reader meets Ruby, Jimmy, Florence, Reggie and others. They all converge at the factory where airplanes are put together for the war effort, and the newsletter, The Factory Voice tells their stories. Amongst the trivial newsletter stories of life on the factory floor are stories of betrayal and intrigue impacting the lives of the main characters.

What is also a joy about this book is the colloquial language, the idioms, the research into the products used, the songs on the radio, fashions of the late
1930s/early 1940s. No, we didn’t have Lucky Strikes in Canada during those years, but we can forgive a small lapse of research as Jeanette Lynes has brought us a light-hearted story of some of the most interesting characters to come along in a while. I hope Lynes keeps on writing – she has a swinging style that captivated ......at least this reader!