A Silken Thread by Kim Vogel Sawyer
I received an advance reader copy of A Silken Thread from Waterbrook, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC, in exchange for an honest review.
A Silken Thread was about Laurel Millard and her plans to capture a wealthy suitor who can afford care for her mother and give Laurel the life she dreams about. She gets hired as a silk weaver at the Atlanta Cotton Exposition of 1895, and works at a loom most of the day, making lengths of silk for display and educational purposes aimed at the visitors to the Silk Room at the Exposition.
Laurel meets Willie Sharp, a security guard at the exposition, Langdon Rochester, the son of the owner of Rochester Steam Engines company, and a few young women who work with her in the Silk Room, giving guided tours of that area. She also meets Quincy, a friend of Willie's, who is hired as a groundskeeper at the exposition.
The book is well written, and the characters all connect nicely with each other. Mrs. Sawyer is skilled in blending the stories of each person into a good, solid historical fiction tale, which keeps the reader interested and engaged. I thoroughly appreciated her use of the King James bible when she wrote Scriptures into the stories, and she placed them appropriately. They added so much value to the whole book. I also liked the information about the Cotton Exposition, how the grounds were described in detail, which gave me a good picture of what they must have looked like.
Mrs. Sawyer dealt with racism in the book, too. In my opinion, she portrayed one character in particular well, and gave him insightful thought processing, which helped him overcome some things. Each character, really, matured and became more experienced in their views of life, and how people act. I liked the book, and do recommend it to anyone wanting a clean historical fiction story, with very little romance in it, and a LOT of substance!
I received an advance reader copy of A Silken Thread from Waterbrook, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC, in exchange for an honest review.
A Silken Thread was about Laurel Millard and her plans to capture a wealthy suitor who can afford care for her mother and give Laurel the life she dreams about. She gets hired as a silk weaver at the Atlanta Cotton Exposition of 1895, and works at a loom most of the day, making lengths of silk for display and educational purposes aimed at the visitors to the Silk Room at the Exposition.
Laurel meets Willie Sharp, a security guard at the exposition, Langdon Rochester, the son of the owner of Rochester Steam Engines company, and a few young women who work with her in the Silk Room, giving guided tours of that area. She also meets Quincy, a friend of Willie's, who is hired as a groundskeeper at the exposition.
The book is well written, and the characters all connect nicely with each other. Mrs. Sawyer is skilled in blending the stories of each person into a good, solid historical fiction tale, which keeps the reader interested and engaged. I thoroughly appreciated her use of the King James bible when she wrote Scriptures into the stories, and she placed them appropriately. They added so much value to the whole book. I also liked the information about the Cotton Exposition, how the grounds were described in detail, which gave me a good picture of what they must have looked like.
Mrs. Sawyer dealt with racism in the book, too. In my opinion, she portrayed one character in particular well, and gave him insightful thought processing, which helped him overcome some things. Each character, really, matured and became more experienced in their views of life, and how people act. I liked the book, and do recommend it to anyone wanting a clean historical fiction story, with very little romance in it, and a LOT of substance!
A Silken Thread is a tale of friendship, social inequality, racial prejudices, faith and love. It was interesting to learn about the Cotton States and International Exposition that occurred in Atlanta in 1895. It is located in what is now Piedmont Park. The authors descriptions brought the venue alive. I found A Silken Thread to be well-written and it progresses at a gentle pace. I like how Kim Vogel Sawyer incorporated the historical (she captured this period in time) and Christian elements into the story. They are interwoven with the characters storylines and enhance the book. The characters are complex and realistic. Laurel is a naïve eighteen year old who wants to find someone to love her. A man who will make her heart sing the way her father did for her mother. She is not worldly or sophisticated which draws Langdon to her. Laurel is a Christian woman who does not understand people's prejudices. Willie is a kind man with a big heart. He wants what is best for his father and is willing to work hard to make it happen. Langdon is a selfish man who only thinks of himself and how he can manipulate others to get what he wants from them. Quincy has a sweet family and a good friend in Willie. The point-of-view switches between the four characters as their stories unfold. One of my favorite lines In A Silken Thread was that we should treat others as we want to be treated (Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you). Having faith, importance of prayer and following God's path for your life are some of the Christian elements incorporated into the story. I thought the author captured how each character would speak. I liked learning more about silk, the process of extracting it, and how it is woven. It is explained in easy to understand terms. The author addressed sensitive topics deftly in A Silken Thread (racial injustices, social inequality). Friendships are tested in A Silken Thread along with individuals' beliefs. There are discussion questions at the end of the book. A Silken Thread is a compelling and poignant historical novel.
