1911, Clydebank in Scotland, and Jean
Ferrier and Donald Cameron are working in the burgeoning Singer sewing machine
factory; but not for long. Union man
Donald falls foul of management, loses his job and becomes a marked man in
Glasgow necessitating a move across to Edinburgh to work in the Leith
shipyards. Jean goes with him but as she
leaves she secretes a message in the last sewing machine she works on.
1954, Edinburgh, and Connie Baxter helps her
mother, Kathleen, thread the needle of her old sewing machine and teases her
for the notebooks she compiles detailing all the jobs she undertakes on the old
Singer, whether for profit or pleasure.
2016, Edinburgh, and thirty-six year old
Fred Morrison takes possession of his recently deceased grandfather’s
flat. He also inherits several cupboards
full of junk, including an old sewing machine.
He is out of work and out of a relationship so with time to spare he tries
his hand at sewing.
Their three stories are told in alternating
episodes, the sewing machine providing a common thread; but it is not the only
one. Family histories unfold; a
patchwork of relationships builds up; long held but little understood mysteries
begin to be unpicked. Enough of the
sewing metaphors - although with the book itself brimming with them they are
hard to avoid.
Those who like family sagas or sewing are
most likely to enjoy the book. I count
myself as neither of these but still found it a good read with a satisfying
resolution.
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