Oct 3, 2021
Factory Girls has been signed up by Betsy Gleick at Algonquin in the US for publication next November, 2022
Michelle Gallen's
Girls just Wanna have Fun…and survive the erupting violence during the summer of the Ceasefire in Northern Ireland.
Factory Girls is a startling account of ‘normal life’ in a Northern Irish factory during the summer of the Ceasefire. This witty, disturbing novel stars Maeve Murry, who hopes her exam results will win her a ticket out of the shitty wee Northern Irish town she lives in. But getting the right results are only part of Maeve’s problem – she’s got to survive a tit-for-tat paramilitary campaign as brutal as her relationship with her mam, iron 100 shirts an hour all day every day in the local factory, and escape the attentions of Handy Andy Strawbridge – her sleazy boss. It’s going to be a long hot summer in this small town – luckily Maeve’s got her bestie – cuddly kind Caroline Jackson – to help keep her sane and her oblivious frenemy – privileged, clever Aoife O’Neill – to sharpen her claws on.