After the Angel Mill

By Carol Bruneau

This linked collection chronicles four generations of women in a Cape Breton family, women who represent the unsung multitude who have struggled through the years to make homes and keep families clothed and fed, while the men went down into the mines. The stories lay bare the grief and disappointments - as well as the stoical sense of humour - of working-class women living in an economically-deprived but fiercely cohesive community. Always these characters long for something better, their hopes and dreams tempered with grim acceptance, and a bred-in-the-bone will to survive.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0920953913
• ISBN13: 9780920953914
• Release Date: June 1996
• Publisher: Cormorant Books
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Fine reading from Nova Scotia

After the Angel Mill is a collection of overlapping stories that weave a fascinating tapestry of men and women who endure and try to rise above poverty in early 20th Century Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The writing is lean and clear, and while the courage the characters reveal is often heartwarming and humerous, the author foregoes sentimentality in favor of an appealing dark edge. It's hard to believe this is a first novel; one looks forward to the next!