The Florabama Ladies' Auxiliary & Sewing Circle

by Lois Battle

A New York Times bestseller A Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club Selection Welcome to Florabama, Alabama—a place where you can stop to sip a co'cola or iced tea and think about money and love. If you had'em, you were free to think about other things. If you didn't you couldn't think about anything else. "We've been screwed blue and tattooed," quips Hilly Pruitt, upon hearing the news of the closing of Cherished Lady, the local lingerie factory where she's worked a lifetime. The same day the plant closes, Bonnie Duke Cullman, former-deb turned Atlanta-society-wife, has herself been downsized—right out of her marriage and picture-perfect life. In an unlikely alliance, Bonnie, Hilly, and the rest of the ex-bra seamstresses join forces in the "Displaced Homemakers Program" at a podunk community college. Together they endure a midlife survival course where the events of a single year forever alter the way they see the world and their places in it.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Southern, Book Club, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Friendship

358 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 2001

Reviews

[Elise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Snore. Characters were shallow, plot was canned and never quite developed. Love the idea of the small southern town and a group of its women trying to improve their lives, but it just never took shape!

[Gwenette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I liked this book. I didn't like some of the stereotypes the author used (for example, the Indian family who owned the motel at the interstate exit in southern Alabama, and all the black service workers).

I was 3/4 of the way through the novel when I finally understood the title, and I think that should have been evident earlier. It took a long time for her to set the scene. I understand that she wanted to create empathy for the characters, and that takes time, but it seemed like lots of character-building and not moving the story along for more than the first half of the book. Some of the character growth seemed to happen off-page -- or maybe just too suddenly. I was reading along, and then suddenly a couple is moving in together and taking on responsibility for some extra kids; a secondary character suddenly does something that negatively affects a whole bunch of characters (primary and secondary), and that surprised me. I didn't see it coming, and I think I should have.

I was mostly satisfied with the ending; it's probably how I would have wanted the characters to end up. I might have made some tweaks.

[Joan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was disappointing. It started out fine. I could follow where the author was going. Then it just got lost. There were so many points that where left up in the air. A sewing club was just mentioned in passing 3/4 of the way thru the book. Was hoping for talk about the womens club and their interaction.....got none of that.
You don't know what happens in the end. Where does the main character go? What happens to Roxy...does she come back and give the money back? Does Hilly get married? What happens to all the women? What's up with the next store neighbor?

Just too many loose ends for me.

[Tammie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was enjoyable. Some parts more than others. While the writer did well on the chapters concerning her main charactor Bonnie, who is upper-middle class, she treats Bonnie's students, women who have worked in a factory that has shut down due to foreign competition, as one-dimentional, childlike creatures. There is a condescending presence with them throughout the book, as if people caught up in this kind of life and work are somehow less complete personalities and of lower intelligence. There are towns in the South now that are nearly ghost towns because of all the businesses relocating to other countries because of Nafta and Cafta and such, leaving behind people struggling for existence, but these are fully adult, fully human people, the majority of whom are as intelligent as those born with a silver spoon, they just have to struggle harder to survive.

The romance part of the story is very delighful and Bonnie's family very real. The story is good and the characters interesting, I just can't help but feel a pre-Civil War attitude of the upper class toward the lower class (race not withstanding) winding through this book as she interfaces with those of lesser opportunity and is shocked to find one of them (Ruth) intelligent and several of them capapble. Bonnie suceeds in finding labor for the group, helping them to make ends meet, but with the attitude that their value is only in their labor, while their mental abilities are limited.

It was "just ok", nothing more.

[Janice · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you read the jacket leaves, you've read the book.

[Sue]

Good fun.

[Bookjazzer2010 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I just had to read this one that featured my home state and needlework & sewing.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got out this book because it was about women coming together to do something useful and form important friendships. They do form friendships even though they are from vastly different walks of life and are there for each other. The southern expressions used in the story are very humorous – made me laugh out loud at times and I needed to read a few to my husband! I was surprised that the sewing circle wasn't more central to the story . . . only a small part really. The story is much more about the possibilities these women have to start their lives over and remake them in their “middle” years whether it's career, education or relationships.

[Carole at From My Carolina Home · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book where the title promised sewing and didn't deliver. There is a sewing bit in the last third of the book, but it isn't explored as well as it could have been. The story follows the ladies as they are downsized out of jobs, and try to find their way in new situations, returning to school and finding work. The sewing circle becomes a way to make some money, but even that has a disaster that the central character should have seen coming, I sure did. It annoys me when a woman is portrayed as just being stupid, making idiotic choices. It is a mildly entertaining story, but has some flaws in the characterizations.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't have high hopes when I found this random book at the beach house I was visiting, but I was pleasantly surprised. I liked the protagonists, and found it to be an all right story. Although, the title of the book is dumb.

[Cid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very light. Another story of women at a life crossing banding together. I admit that I tend to enjoy those themes so I didn't hate it, but there wasn't much to distinguish it from many other books of a similar kind.

[Denise Sande · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose this book; while every now and then I need a book about simpler times and "the girls". My book club did not enjoy this book. I am a sucker for sweet Chic Lit that doesn't involve much of a romance.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this on my shelf, having forgotten I borrowed it from a friend years ago.....It’s a quick read and, while not great literature, I appreciated the story of women helping each other overcome adversity.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a silly read, but I enjoyed very much. It is a "coming-of-age" for a southern woman jilted by her ex-husband.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great serious/funny book about the South.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

How do Battle's characters and their stories reflect current issues and trends in the South, and in America in general?
Well, the book was written about 12 years ago. I was in college at the time so my world was very removed from hers. I am a native Alabamian, but I've always lived in a bigger city whereas Florabama is a small town. I can say that in my own family, we've experienced a situation where one of my relatives had to shut down his own factory because people were able to buy similar items at cheaper prices in stores like Wal-Mart. The stories are familiar to me, but not closely related. Also, many of the characters spoke with prejudices and used racial stereotypical phrases. I didn't like that, and it's not something I'm used to. Yes, I am a Southerner, and yes, I have heard many of those statements, but my family doesn't talk that way nor my friends and we don't think it's okay. Not all Southerners are quite so polarizing about things.

Compare Bonnie and Ruth. Even though they come from such diverse backgrounds, how are their situations similar?
Bonnie and Ruth are both similar in the amazing character growth they experienced thanks to being at the college. Bonnie found her sense of self and was able to use her natural talents and caring nature to nurture and help the women from the factory. Ruth was able to find the dream she once lost, she found her voice, she found the strength and support she needed to step out and live her life.

Compare the leading men in Bonnie's life: the Duke, Riz, and Devoe. What are their strengths and weaknesses? How does each represent the typical "Southern" gentleman? How, if at all, does each represent the typical "modern" man?
First off, the "typical Southern gentleman" is a man with manners, who loves and respects his mama, and works hard but plays harder. In my opinion, none of these men represent the "typical Southern gentleman." Of course, all three of those men are in a higher class of society than I've ever entered. Devoe is a man who got caught up in the mistaken notion that more money and more things make a person happy and important. Riz is a sad soul who places his physical needs above anything else, feeding his lustful desires, and living a life of pleasure. The Duke represents the generation where men believed talking about emotions made them weak. He was a good provider, who loves his family, though and I think he always did what he thought best for them.

What role does money play in this novel? Is it always a good thing to have? What are the ramifications of having too much? What are the benefits of not always having enough?
Money is like a secondary character of this novel. It's represented with Devoe's indulgence and "borrowing" money he couldn't repay, it's represented in Elice's love of shopping and fancy things, it's represented in the factory workers who suddenly had even less than the little they had to begin with, it's represented in Bonnie where she must learn to adjust to a life lived paycheck to paycheck but she always knows she can get help from the Duke if she needs. I think having too much money can cause someone to feel better than people without money, but people without lots of money can become prejudiced towards people who are wealthy. Money is a dividing factor in relationships and can mean life or illness for someone who can't afford to even buy an antibiotic. Having money or not having money isn't an excuse for having a poor attitude, of being rude to other people, or to lose your identity.

In the beginning of the novel, Bonnie looks back on her marriage to Devoe, before his bankruptcy and their divorce, and observes that she had lead a "charmed life." Do you think a year later she would make that same observation?
The observation that her life with Devoe, raising their kids, and helping charities was a charmed life? Yes, I do think she'd make the same observation, because it's true. That doesn't mean her life with Devoe was perfect, their marriage was obviously a bit flawed, but nothing is perfect.


On page 7, Mrs. Patel, the hotel owner, says, "Sometimes when we are in difficulty, old habits of the mind are the worst obstacles." What does she mean by "old habits of the mind?" How does this piece of wisdom apply to Bonnie? To the women she advises?
I think that this could be an example of how Bonnie used to think about poor people. When she first met the ladies, she made some rather ignorant assumptions because they had worked in factories and not graduated from college. She thought that meant they weren't intelligent enough to complete college courses, or maybe even start their lives over. Bonnie also had to get over her old life, where she could buy whatever she wanted and not consider the price, she couldn't do that anymore and she had to learn to think about setting up house in a different way.

The first night in her new house, Bonnie writes in a journal that she feels "stripped." She is reminded of what she felt as an adolescent, "as though her adult life had been no more than an interim, and now she'd come back to her reflective, questioning, self-conscious nature, worried about who she was, her place in the world, what the future would hold." These are scary feelings for a normally self-confident woman. Have you ever had these feelings? What kinds of incidents prompted them?
I've lived most of my life as a questioning, self-conscious person. I'm only just learning to take confidence in my abilities and trust in my own opinions and observances about the world around me.

What elements of the novel—characters, events, setting—are uniquely Southern? Could this story have taken place anywhere else in the country?
Uniquely Southern? I wouldn't know. I've lived my whole life in the South so everything just seemed normal to me. Well, with the exception of laquered doughnuts, I don't know a single person who would spend so much money on a table decoration, nor many who could even afford to do so.

How has Battle's depiction of the modern South changed your own perceptions about that part of the country?
LoL, it actually made me wonder what people are associating Alabama with! The racial and poor stereotyping bothers me quite a bit. "That part of the country" isn't portrayed in the characters as I believe would be true to the area. Not my personal experience, just saying.

What do you think of Bonnie's relationship with Riz? Besides a new mattress, what does he offer her? Is he better for her than Devoe? What will become of their relationship?
I hate Bonnie's relationship with Riz. He's not at all interested in her as a person, he treats her like a toy he pick up when he wants and treat as he pleases, then set down until he wants it again. As far as I can tell, the only thing he offered her was the feeling of sexiness and desirability she probably lost in the last years of her marriage and her divorce, maybe even lost as a mother when she became more focused on raising her kids than her sex appeal. I hope she ends the relationship and finds a partner who listens and cares for her as a person, not as a bed fellow.

Many of the characters in this novel have faced enormous losses and overwhelming adversity—and ended up better off than they were before. Can you think of situations where disasters turned into triumphs? How can we apply the lessons these characters learned to our own daily lives?
Sometimes it takes a tragedy or a loss to realize you aren't living in a manner worthy of your specialness and talents. I've experienced this several times in my own life. You don't always realize the benefit of hitting bottom, or having it hit you, at the time, you're so busy clawing and biting your way up to clean air that you don't even realize you're back on top of the mountain until you're standing there.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really not the type of book I read often. The title is a bit kitschy and that's often enough to put me off a book, but for some reason I bought this in spite of the title. Even reading the book's blurb I can't understand what made me buy the book, however I enjoyed the tough Southern ladies whose lives were turned upside down by either the closure of their workplace factory or the bankruptcy and pending divorce changing the life of a former society wife.

These women all come together for a year at a small community college in the hopes that they can turn their lives around. The characters were lively and realistic. The problems were a bit clichéd and predictable, but the solutions were not always what I thought they would be. The title is misleading because the women don't officially form a sewing circle as a kind of therapy group like you think they will although there is eventually a plotline that involves sewing. I don't think this book will stand out in my memory, but it was an enjoyable reading experience.

[DeAnna Whisenant-Arnold · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were too many characters with undeveloped stories. In the first few chapters, the lengthy story of Ruthie and especially Hilly were unnecessary. Overall, the lengthy backstories were unnecessary. Her children and Duke and Elise were unnecessarily sprinkled in the mix of characters. At a point, I was so disinterested I was going to put the book down; a storyline came to life. The women making the dresses and selling them showed hope. Roxy taking the money and credit cards, added an interesting twist. This should have developed a great story. But then the story went downhill again. There was no follow-up on the dresses and the women until a very brief mention at the end. There was no closure to the storyline with Roxy except a brief postcard at the end. What about Rip? And why was it so important for her to meet Mallory? In my opinion, the storyline was poorly written with too many plots and no closure, too many characters descriptions and backstories with no follow through. There was hope in the middle of the book, only to be brought back down in the last third of the book.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The overall premise for this book is strong, but the execution fell short for me.
A lingerie factory in a small southern town moves to Mexico, leaving many women of all ages unemployed and lacking skills and opportunities for future employment. Bonnie, a newly divorced, well-connected socialite, is offered a job with the local community college to assist the women with education and job training. I thought this was a wonderful starting point for a novel.
I enjoyed the relationships that develop between the women, although there are a few too many characters. Because of this, most of the characters are not well-developed. I found myself rooting for a few of the women, particularly Ruth, one of the displaced workers.
There is some lighthearted humor sprinkled throughout the book, so it never feels depressing, even when some unfortunate events occur. Stereotyping of some groups also occurs. Overall, this one was just OK for me.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book or not but I was pleasantly surprised. Admittedly, it took me a little bit to get into it but I think that was because at the beginning it seem to go back-and-forth in time a little bit and I got a little confused. But it really is a book about women’s resiliency. It’s also about women’s friendships and the ability to overcome obstacles…

What I especially liked was that everything was left pretty open so the reader can kind of imagine what might happen or what they would like to happen. We see. Bonnie grow as a person as her she moves on after her divorce, we see, Ruth grow into herself, and we even see Hillie become a little bit less of an angry person and a little softer. The cast of characters sure was interesting.

[Joyce Reynolds-Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked parts of this book. The characterization of Hilly and Ruth, the still-relevant issues of jobs going overseas and retraining, the elements that still ring true today, but.

But. We don't get to the Ladies Auxiliary and Sewing Circle piece until later on in the book, and the ending is incomplete, flat, and leaves too many loose ends untied. If this were an epic fantasy or space opera, I'd say the author was leaving those pieces loose for a sequel. However, I don't see this book as being able to carry the weight of a series. There's just not enough there for it.

Enjoyable in pieces, but in the end unsatisfying.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a great reminder of what it was like, or at least what novels were like, just before cell phones or social media.

There's not much new-agey stuff going on in Alabama, apparently, but the cast is almost all women struggling toward feminism, with all it's stigmas in place. I can see the roots of things - the redneck flying a confederate flag right next to the actual US flag, with nobody batting an eye. (There really should have been more eyes batted 20 years ago.) The factories moving out of the country as quickly & quietly as possible, dumping their helpless employees into the system. (Was there any noise? There really should have been more noise.)

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seeking employment after her divorce and with no job experience at all, Bonnie Cullman finds herself in the ironic situation of heading a program for displaced homemakers at a community college in Florabama, Alabama. To increase the irony even more, she is the only one in the program who is truly a displaced homemaker; the other women all worked at Cherished Lady, a local manufacturer of women's underwear. The closing of the factory has totally upset their lives and despite the odds, with Bonnie's guidance and the support of each other they find their way through one of the most upsetting times of their lives to land on their feet, each woman in her own way.

[Jeannine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable read. The title doesn't really come clear until the end of the book, but follows the progress of newly divorced society wife Bonnie Duke Cullman starting over in a new town as the director of a "Displaced Homemakers Program" for a community college, as well as the just laid off workers of the local lingerie factory told to make use of her program - sort of the blind leading the blind. But somehow these extremely different women find enough common ground to claw their way to a future and to strengths and friendships they never expected or thought possible. Highly recommended.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the idea of this book, that an unlikely alliance of very different people could work for the good of all. That part of the story line was great, and I enjoyed it a lot. I liked how the characters helped each other find what truly mattered and what was just social pressure. The author illustrated that all levels of society have norms to which conforming makes everyone comfortable, but not especially happy. Perhaps I read the book too slowly, but I gave this book a three star rating because the sheer number of minor characters made it a bit much to keep track of who mattered and who didn't. It has a satisfying if abrupt ending.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked this up from the shelf at the B&B we were staying at in Asheville because the author's name is Lois like my daughter. Got partway through and realized the 4 main characters were 2 indentical sets except one was middle class and one working. One of each pair was traditional marriage, kids etc. while the other one was the "wild" one with lots of men, no kids etc. yet they were best friends. How about a little imagination here? Skipped to the of course happy ending with loves for the single women, successful overcoming of the factory closure, divorce.

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

A hopeful, pleasant story that is marred by an overabundance of stereotypes. The character stereotypes can easily be construed as offensive - ie, the Asian motel owner, Jess & the manner in which his dialogue is written.

The story itself also runs along stereotypical lines - a white, upperclass woman is displaced & conveniently lands a position where she helps out women less fortunate than her, making both her & their lives better. In essence, she saves the day, & in doing so, she saves herself.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonnie Duke Cullman is not sure what to do. Her husband has lost all their money and is divorcing her for another woman. Bonnie stayed home with the kids and never used her college degree. She is hired to work at the Florabama Community College. Her job is to help the woman of Cherished Lady, a clothing factory that has closed. Each of the women in the group are unique and they help and support each other. Bonnie helps each woman pursue the future and to use each woman's talents. Very nice, cozy book.

[Susan Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade

Bonnies husband leaves her broke and without a home as he leaves. See needs to find a job and dusts off an old resume to get a job at a community college in Florabama, Alabama. There she works with a group of women who just lost there factory jobs so the company could move to Mexico. An unlike lot, they find out so much about there own strengths and friendship as they grow and overcome challenges together.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, uplifting story of a woman who finds her strength and resilience after her mid life divorce and bankruptcy. Unbeknownst to her, her connected father helps her get a job in a small southern town helping a group of ladies who have just gone through their own mid-life crisis of being laid off from their life long mill jobs. The Ladies of Florabama help each other recovery their sense of self and move on with their lives.