The Sorting Room

by Michael Rose

In Prohibition-era New York City, Eunice Ritter, an indomitable ten-year-old girl, finds work in a sweat shop—an industrial laundry—after impairing her older brother with a blow to the head in a sibling tussle. When the diminutive girl first enters the sorting room, she encounters a giant, the largest human being she has ever seen.

Gussie, a powerful, hard-working Black woman, soon becomes her mentor and sole friend. Eunice is entrapped in the laundry’s sorting room by the Great Depression, sentenced to bring her low wages home to her alcoholic parents as penance for her childhood mistake. Then, on her sixteenth birthday, Eunice becomes pregnant and her drunken father demands the culprit marry his daughter, trapping her anew—this time in a loveless marriage, along with a child she never wanted. Within a couple of years, Eunice makes a grave error and settles into a lonely life of drudgery that she views as her own doing. Decades pass in virtual solitude before her secret history is revealed to those from whom she has withheld her love.

An epic family saga, The Sorting Room is a captivating tale of a woman’s struggle and perseverance in faint hopes of reconciliation, if not redemption.

Genres: Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 21, 2021

About the author

Michael Rose was raised on a small family dairy farm in Upstate New York. He retired after serving in executive positions for several global multinational enterprises. He has been a non-executive director for three public companies headquartered in the U.S. He lives and writes in San Francisco.

Reviews

[Dana K · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Sorting Room is powerful but depressing read set in Prohibition era NYC. I have not felt for a main character the way I felt for Eunice since Ruth Ann in A Mother's Promise. Eunice is a girl raised in poverty with literally no chance for a life than the one that has been thrust upon her. She is born to two drunks who care nothing for her and her brother and from ten years old is trying to hustle to get purchase on a better life. Circumstance after circumstance thwarts any chance she has for joy or fulfillment.

I am not a fan of time jumps in stories and this one takes several throughout not just to show us how the generations turn out but within each section of the story as well. I found this a little jarring and wanted more details. We got so many details about the sorting room and Eunice's place there but the other aspects of her life had varying levels of detail. I would have liked 100 more pages spread throughout to tell me more about Eunice's struggles, her reaction to them and her pressing to overcome them. We got that in some places and not others, I would have liked a little more consistency throughout.

Either way I appreciate reading these stories about the true people who built America. The people who got no recognition or glory but worked hard to give their families a chance. I liked that this story followed more than one generation and showed the impact of poverty, alcoholism and racism within families.

Thanks to Booksparks for access to this novel. All opinions are my own.

[Dive Into A Good Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eunice Ritter is a spunky, stubborn 10-year-old, who will not take no for an answer. She is determined to get a job at a local industrial laundry. She waits patiently, day in and day out, until finally two of the higher ups turn her into a bet. That she will not make it 15-minutes inside the sorting room. Grown men cannot handle the smell or human waste that is found in the depths of the laundry bags. Eunice holds her own and in turn, earns herself a job. Working alongside a giant of a woman, Gussie. The two become fast friends, depending on one another during this trying time of the Great Depression.

Eunice is brought up by two alcoholic parents, whose only care is where their next drink will come from. On Eunice's 16th birthday she stops by the local watering hole, where her father is as permanent as the stools. She is offered a birthday shot and the night gets away from her. She awakens to a nightmare that will follow her throughout her life. An unwanted baby that is the result of a rape. Her father forces her to marry this truly horrific, ghastly man.

The Sorting Room brings up deeply turbulent family issues that ran rampant during this time. Alcoholism, extreme tempers, spousal abuse, and the women had no means or rights to escape. The book also brings in the extreme racial discrimination that ran rampant. I was completely captivated by Part 1 of this book. Part 2 was another story. I was confused and had to keep rereading to make sure I understood. I feel like I missed out on important parts of Eunice's life, and it jumped ahead to when her children were adults. Thank you to Book Sparks, Spark Press, and Michael Rose for this dark family journey.

[Estefany Nótt · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

El libro tiene un muy buen comienzo. Inmediatamente me absorbió la historia de la joven y su familia disfuncional. El autor creó la atmósfera perfecta de modo que pudiera ver el lugar y los trabajadores.

The Sorting Room es un libro de 2 partes que trata sobre muchos traumas oscuros. Eunice es una niña, de 9 o 10 años, cuando accidentalmente termina convirtiendo a su hermano mayor, Uli, en un vegetal. A medida que pasa el tiempo, vemos que ocurren muchos traumas diferentes en la vida de Eunice, y la historia también muestra las perspectivas de los hombres que terminan cruzándose con ella. Esta es una historia oscura, donde los finales felices no existen para la mayoría de los personajes.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off very well, I was intrigued and interested in Eunice and her life, her daily struggles and her family relationships. Her work ethic was something to admire, despite the reasons she had to work to begin with. Her friendship with Guss was refreshing and I really appreciate how their dynamic worked out. But then we get to about the halfway point of the book and all of a sudden, the timeline jumps 20-30yrs, we're introduced to a whole new cast of characters (the next generation of Eunice's family) and I couldn't care less. I didn't see the logic or reasoning for writing the book in such a manner, it makes no sense because it just disrupts the reader, almost jostling them onto another track and they can't quite get their bearings. In fact, they don't want to, because they're no longer immersed in the story. The editor needs to step up their game - this technique of "time jumping" damn near ruined a perfect book. I couldn't finish. 3 stars.

Thanks netgalley for giving me the advanced pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

[Leslie Lindsay]

An epic family saga, THE SORTING ROOM is a captivating tale of several women's struggles, perseverance, and more set in Prohibition/Depression-era NYC.

Looking for your next great read? Check out my reviews and interviews here, every Wednesday: www.leslielindsay.com|Always with a Book.

It's the beginning of The Great Depression and Eunice Ritter is a child living in squalor. She and her brother, Ulrich--Uli--are close but she's still living on the edges of his world of marbles and friendship. In fact, Eunice may actually be more industrious and skilled at most things, more so than her brother, and even their parents. She's just ten years old when she gets a job at a local sweat shop--an industrial laundry--a job no one wants. In fact, Eunice was sort of 'dared' into the job by adult men who suggested she would become ill within the first hour of sorting disgusting laundry from diapers and the hospital. Yet, she persevered.

It's while at the laundry, Eunice meets her mentor, 'the first Black lady to ever have touched me.' Gussie takes Eunice under her wings and teaches her the ins and outs of industrial laundry. I was amazed and awed at the horrific--labor-intensive work involved, and that a 10-year old was able to stomach it. And I loved Gussie.

The narrative shifts from the laundry to Eunice's home life--which largely surrounds her drunk and disorderly parents, who spend the majority of their time at the bar. A devastating event occurs at the bar with one of her father's so-called 'friends' and Eunice finds herself pregnant.

The marriage is a sham and Eunice is unhappy, poor, and struggling to care for her child. Her husband is of no help and then another child comes along.

I was impressed with the rich, textured detail of THE SORTING ROOM, the care and insight of this time period, particularly the laundry scenes. At times, I found the prose a little too 'on-the-nose,' providing details that might come across as stage direction, and a few instances where I felt big moments were glazed over--for example, I wanted to know more about how Eunice felt about the pregnancy--it sort of jumped from the incident at the bar to having a baby with little examination of interiority, but that could just be my experience.

Moreover, I was aptly impressed with the touches of historical nostalgia--grape and orange soda, for example. The writing is descriptive, but didn't always propel the story forward. There's a section in the book which caused pause and confusion--at least for me--until I understood the bigger scope.

THE SORTING ROOM is an engaging historical fiction debut about the struggle of white and Black women in the Great Depression, but also about hope perseverance, reconciliation, and even redemption.

I was reminded, in part, of the MAGDALEN GIRLS by V.S. Alexander.

For all my reviews, including author interviews, please visit: www.leslielindsay.com|Always with a Book.

Special thanks to the publisher for this review copy. All thoughts are my own.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out very well. I was immediately absorbed by the story of this young girl, her dysfunctional family, and her incredible work ethic. The author created the sorting room's atmosphere such that I could see the place and the workers. Unfortunately, the odor also figuratively emanated from the pages. The relationship between Eunice and Gussie was well developed and enjoyable. I was rooting for Eunice to succeed.
Then the expected happened. Pun intended. I was disappointed. Why does every down-trodden female character have to get pregnant? Maybe that is what happened to many of them. This was the turning point in the story; not just in Eunice's fictional life, but in the plot of the novel. As Eunice's 1920s life continued, the book remained reasonably good.
Suddenly, the storyline skipped ahead by 30 years and I was in a car with the next generation of Eunice's family, or at least, that's who I assumed they were. This discontinuity was completely unexpected and disjointed. For me, it was too abrupt. Figuring out the relationships between all of these new characters was not intriguing; it was annoying. I did not care about them. I cared about Eunice and Gussie. The interactions between these people amounted to the tedious rambling banter of their everyday lives. Maybe it was intended to show that the next generation was poisoned by the drunken father and the mother's bad choices at 16 years old. It just became too pathetic. And I don't even want to think about poor Eunice's pitiful end.
This book was more depressing than it had to be. I'm not really sure what the author was trying to prove. If she wanted to write something miserably depressing and seemingly pointless, mission accomplished. Then it just ended. I wasn't sorry the book ended, but it had no meaningful conclusion. My advice: once you hit the glaring discontinuity, stop reading. Don't bother going any further. It simply is not worth the time and emotional investment.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in 1930s New York City, America is reeling from the Great Depression. Jobs are scarce and people are desperate. Young Eunice Ritter's parents are alcoholics and Eunice longs for escape. She is very determined and though only ten years old waits and waits for a job at the sweat shop near her and will take anything. She works with Gussie in the laundry sorting room and they become fast friends. The job is hard, the hours long but it's better than home life. She has accidentally injured her brother and knows danger. At the age of sixteen she is pregnant and forced to marry a man she despises. She makes poor decisions after that. Years later we see the results of those decisions and of a hard life.

When reading the blurb for this book I was enthused to read it but found it lacking in some indescribable way. Surprisingly, I did not feel an emotional connection with the characters. But we are all different and I can see how many could become attached. My favourite aspect is the description of the sorting jobs...very interesting. And I could almost taste the despair which hung in the air. I just didn't fall in love.

My sincere thank you to SparkPress and NetGalley!

[Melissa (Nissa_the.bookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to BookSparks for sending me a copy of The Sorting Room!

The Sorting Room is a 2 part book that deals with a lot of dark trauma. Eunice is a young girl, either 9 or 10, when she accidentally ends up turning her older brother, Uli, into a walking vegetable. Desperate to get away from him and the reminder of what she turned him into, Eunice gets a job at the local laundry where, as a joke, is put into the sorting room with a large Black woman named Gussie. The sorting room is where the laundry is sorted, and where the dirty-dirties, as Gussie refers to them, cause most people to up and run. When Eunice lasts the entire day, she gets the job.

As time passes, we see a lot of different trauma occur in Eunice’s life, and the story also shows perspectives from the men who end up crossing paths with her. At the start of part 2, we are taken around 30 years into the future, and family drama and trauma is still abundant in poor Eunice’s life. This is a dark story, where happy endings don’t exist for most of the characters.

I enjoyed the historical side of this book where I learned more about the 30s, how children had to take care of parents from a young age, and how immigrants affected America and the work they put into this country. I did feel sad for a majority of the book because Eunice was given a bad lot in life, and some of it was completely out of her control. You’ll probably want to read something cheerier after this!

The writing was superb and descriptive. Told from a narrator’s POV, rather than a personal POV, we see into most of the character’s heads at one point. I enjoyed the overall story, and I just hope that those remaining learn from their elder’s past mistakes while going forward.

The Sorting Room is out today!

TW: Rape, forced marriage, domestic abuse, kidnapping, racial slurs, murder, alcoholism

[Katherina Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. I read this book in one afternoon. It starts out in the sorting room of a laundry during the depression. The word drudgery was invented to describe the kind of work that was done by our heroine, Eunice. She had gumption and at 10 years insisted on being given a job at an industrial laundry. She was put into the sorting room (sorting linens that came from sanitariums and hospitals). Those that hired her bet that she wouldn’t stay more than 15 minutes without puking. She proved herself by staying, demanding her pay and working into a supervisor position. At work, she made friends and enemies. This book takes you from depression era to the 1960’s where you will read of strong-willed Eunice, born to a family of drunkards and made to marry a man who raped her. Eye opening and interesting book for those times.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, Spark Press and Michael Rose for allowing me this arc copy in e-book form to review.
Prohibition/depression era, New York City, the story leads a sad trail through a family saga. Eunice learns some hard life lessons working in a laundry factory. Her mentor is a black lady, Gussie, who takes her under her wing and shows her how to make the best of her situation. When Eunice finds herself in a terrible situation, and has to make heartbreaking decisions, she reaches deep into the depths of her soul and finds strength to make hard decisions with the help of Gussie. Unbeknownst to both Eunice and Gussie, those decisions will have domino effects on the lives of the ones she loves throughout years to come. I enjoyed how the story depicted strong women in desperate situations. If I had to criticize any one thing, it would be the language used in the book. It's pretty strong foul language and for that reason I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 5.

[Christine Cazeneuve · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story that starts with the main character, Eunice, at ten years old who works in a laundry pre-depression era. From the beginning she is a force to be reckoned with and the way the author presents her, you find yourself hardening along with her as her life progresses. At times I wanted more, specifically to her relationship or lack thereof, with Joseph as it seemed the story just jumped over it. The author also gives a good backstory to JP and Joseph but then they kind of fall to the wayside. I loved the fact that part of the story takes place in Rochester (where I live) and references Geneva, Waterloo and Canandaigua. I knew the author had to have lived here at one time. The book will keep you wanting to know how it ends. Definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for granting me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Picture_pretty_books · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ rounded to 3

The story starts with 10 year old Eunice working in a laundry sorting room during the Great Depression, and follows her life as her family abandons her, she is entrapped in a marriage with a baby, and thus continues on a downward spiral of loneliness and despair.

Unfortunately this family saga spun in a different direction than I was anticipating. I would have loved to learn more about the sorting shop and Gussie and the bond she and Eunice seemed to have.

The story transitioned elsewhere and at times it felt choppy or rather that the jumps in time didn’t have enough background for me to be able to follow with interest, particularly the first major jump, and it was just downhill from there.

Thank you Booksparks for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

[Maureen Mayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eunice was quite the leading character in this book! Strong-willed and independent, she was determined to make something of herself at a young age and not follow in the footsteps of her drunken parents. She repeatedly inquired about work at the industrial laundry shop, and when she was finally given a chance, she not only succeeded but excelled at a position that not many people could stand to endure.

On her sixteenth birthday, Eunice becomes pregnant and is forced into a loveless marriage. The years pass by and a lapse in judgement one fateful night leaves her with a lifetime of loneliness and regret. But history never stays silent, and Eunice must face reality before it’s too late.

I enjoyed reading this for the most part, but once I reached Part 2, I felt like I was starting an entirely different story. I immediately disliked this cold, careless version of Eunice. Don’t get me wrong, I know she had a hard life, but the way she treated Henry, who was innocent in all of this, was awful. I do think she redeemed herself a bit by the end, but the whole situation and the way she handled it from the beginning left a bitter taste in my mouth.

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

[Kimberly Moses · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full Disclosure - I won this book through Goodreads.

The start of the book held so much promise with the introduction of Eunice, and how she gets her job in the laundry. Gussie is a strong character but she disappears mid way from the story. I liked the beginning, and how Eunice navigates life in the depression, poverty and ignorance. The story gets somewhat disjointed, and jumps several years into the future, and there is character that comes in at the end but is not fully fleshed out.

All in all, I cared about Eunice and travails though life but I felt like there was so much missing ...

[Cara Wood]

I got an ARC of this novel and spoke to author Michael Rose for DeadDarlings.com. Here's a link to the our conversation: https://deaddarlings.com/?p=19328

I learned that Michael grew up on a farm and actually worked in a sorting room similar to the one in the book. I read this novel in one sitting, it features a large cast but main character Eunice looms large as a strong matriarch with a fascinating life story.

[Daphne Manning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eunice , a spirit lifted by providence and a willing employer of children. Eunice had hoped this job would be he way out of the slums. Her family had other plans. Family a word that came for Eunice just when her footing was solid, came for her with a wink and rogue’s smile ; trapped her to a life without comfort or solace. Her story is told with insight into lives where father’s control till husbands control where your dreams die.

[CR · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sorting Room was kind of on the depressing side. But that is not to say that it wasn't a very good book. This story is going to have a lot of tigger warnings as it is about a girl who grows up, gets raped, is forced to have a baby she didn't want, and more. I felt so sorry for Eunice thought this entire story.

[Polly Krize · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Eunice, 10 years old, finds herself working in an industrial laundry sorting room. The hard work, coupled with her alcoholic parents make for a hard life in depression era New York. Struggling to survive, Eunice must overcome so much to make a life for herself. Poignant and well written.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Sorting Room" and all opinions expressed are my own. The was an interesting story that I hadn't been aware of. I did like learning about the historical aspect of the story. It seem to jump around a bit but overall good.

[Aaron Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, moving first novel from an author with a long career and life in finance. Impressive debut, inspiring authorship, and look forward to the next one.

[Jacquie Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Sorting Room
Michael Rose

Release date: 21 Sep 2021

Description:
"In Prohibition-era New York City, Eunice Ritter, an indomitable ten-year-old girl, finds work in a sweat shop—an industrial laundry—after impairing her older brother with a blow to the head in a sibling tussle. When the diminutive girl first enters the sorting room, she encounters a giant: Gussie, the largest human being she has ever seen.

Gussie, a powerful, hard-working woman, soon becomes Eunice’s mentor and sole friend as she finds herself entrapped in the laundry’s sorting room by the Great Depression, sentenced to bring her low wages home to her alcoholic parents as penance for her childhood mistake. Then, on her sixteenth birthday, Eunice becomes pregnant and her drunken father demands that the culprit marry his daughter, trapping her anew—this time in a loveless marriage, along with a child she never wanted. Within a couple of years, Eunice makes a grave error and settles into a lonely life of drudgery that she views as her own doing. She spends decades in virtual solitude before her secret history is revealed to those from whom she has withheld her love.

An epic family saga, The Sorting Room is a captivating tale of a woman’s struggle and perseverance in faint hopes of reconciliation, if not redemption."

Review:
Debut novel that left me guessing!

The author had me invested in tragic Eunice Ritter from the start - alcoholic parents, teenage pregnancy, loveless marriage, a "lonely life of drudgery" working in an industrial laundry - then left me hanging! What exactly did Eunice do to her brother? Did Uli die at the farm? What happened after the baby was kidnapped? All those years with no explanation. How did Joseph know about Eunice's death? Why didn't they kill JP? So many unanswered questions. Good character development, especially Gussie and David Welles, but they could have been so much more!

I was gifted this advance copy by NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.