Triangle

Katharine Weber has the gift of haunt, and in this case, a gift for historical storytelling. We are riveted from the moment the horrifying accident at the Triangle Factory is retold in Pinsky's poetry, to it's very beautiful and vindicating ending. Weber turns the readers into sleuths, and causes us to pour over the transcriptions of Esther's recollections of the fire looking for answers as voraciously as the ever-annoying yet completely recognizable Ruth Zion. George, Rebecca and Esther become so lovable to us--we fight hard for them, and delight in the resolution that we might have, or might not have discovered for ourselves by the end.

Lovers of both historical fiction and contemporary literature are in for a treat. I was quickly drawn into Esther Gottesfeld's heartbreaking story and her granddaughter's struggle to piece together the web of tangled half-truths that Esther left behind. It's a powerful testament of love and memory, beautifully written. Weber isn't just another literary stylist; she actually has something to say. The only thing I didn't like was the caricature feminist historian, surely a conceit that a writer of such talent and power could have done without. Still a most mesmerizing book. I look forward to reading more of Weber's work. -Mary Sharratt, author of The Vanishing Point

"Triangle" by Katharine Weber is carefully crafted story woven with the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory of 1911 that killed many women. It involves story the last remaining survivor of the Triange, Ester, who many believe is hiding details concerning the events that happened that day. The story is written with inventive prose using alternating chapters of interviews, first hand accounts, and the story itself. These alterations create an interesting read, that by the time you realize what really happens you are filled with emotion at what really occured. I would recommend this read to anyone who wants an engaging read on such a historical event.

Katharine Weber's "Triangle" is a literary composite of actual history, questions about the veracity of historical accounts and how individuals rotate around the very center of these assumptions and truths. It is a moving and inventive novel, full of imagination and genuine tragedy. Through cracks and layers in the oral telling of the famous Triangle Fire, Ms. Weber asks us to consider what is true and what becomes passed on through generations because, indeed, it is often the best story about an event that triumphs over its real facts and truths. Written in clear and brilliant prose, "Triangle" succeeds in engaging the reader on so many levels--the readers' experience is multifolded and undeniably fascinating.

For a relatively short novel, Triangle is jammed packed with ideas and stories interlinked and moving. It's the book I'm giving all my friends (and even non-friends). Using a relative's famous brush with death, the book pelts through a couple's contemporary life with insight, compassion and not a little humor. In fact, it's rare a novel that causes me to laugh, cry and gasp in horror in the space of three hours. Superb.