All Waiting Is Long

Set in the 1930s, Taylor’s suspenseful and intricate follow-up to Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night tells the story of sisters Violet and Lily Morgan. When 16-year-old Lily becomes pregnant out of wedlock, Violet follows her to the Good Shepherd Infant Asylum in Philadelphia. The nuns promise good homes to all babies born under their roof, but unbeknownst to them, the lead physician at the asylum is practicing eugenics and sterilizing the expecting mothers who pass through their doors. As the girls’ visit comes to a close, Violet makes a rash decision that will alter not only her relationship with her sister, but her future with her fiancé, and her entire existence in her hometown of Scranton, Pa. Taylor delivers startling plot twists and incisive commentary on the social unrest of a coal-mining town during the Great Depression. Covering a six-year span, the novel reveals the consequences of arduous labor and widespread sterilizations that came with the eugenics movement. Among the prostitutes, mobsters, and miners is a web of interconnected lives that come together for a breathtaking ending in Taylor’s fine sequel. (July)