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Triangle
Esther Gottesfeld is the last living survivor of the notorious 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire and has told her story countless times in the span of her lifetime. Even so, her death at the age of 106 leaves unanswered many questions about what happened that fateful day. How did she manage to survive the fire when at least 146 workers, most of them women, her sister and fiancé among them, burned or jumped to their deaths from the sweatshop inferno? Are the discrepancies in her various accounts over the years just ordinary human fallacy, or is there a hidden story in Esther’s recollections of that terrible day? Esther’s granddaughter Rebecca Gottesfeld, with her partner George Botkin, an ingenious composer, seek to unravel the facts of the matter while Ruth Zion, a zealous feminist historian of the fire, bores in on them with her own mole-like agenda. A brilliant, haunting novel about one of the most terrible tragedies in early-twentieth-century America, Triangle forces us to consider how we tell our stories, how we hear them, and how history is forged from unverifiable truths.
242 pages, Hardcover
First published June 13, 2006
14 people are currently reading
446 people want to read
About the author
Katharine Weber
17Ìýbooks95ÌýfollowersKatharine Weber's six novels and memoir, all highly-praised, some, award-winning, have made her a book club favorite.
Her eighth book, JANE OF HEARTS AND OTHER STORIES (Paul Dry Books, March 2022), is a collection of somewhat linked stories and a novella.
Her seventh book, the novel STILL LIFE WITH MONKEY (Paul Dry Books), had rave reviews and praise:
"Stark and compelling . . . Rigorously unsentimental yet suffused with emotion: possibly the best work yet from an always stimulating writer."―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Katharine Weber's Still Life With Monkey is a beautifully wrought paean of praise for the ordinary pleasures taken for granted by the able-bodied. In precise and often luminous prose, with intelligence and tenderness, Weber's latest novel examines the question of what makes a life worth living."―Washington Post
"[A] deeply but delicately penetrating novel."―New York Times Book Review
"Weber's unsentimental and poignant examination of what does and does not make life worth living is a heartbreaking triumph."―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A brilliantly crafted novel, brimming with heart."―Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage
Katharine's previous novel, True Confections, the story of a chocolate candy factory in crisis, was published in 2010. Critics raved: "A great American tale" (New York Times Book Review), "Marvelous, a vividly imagined story about love, obsession and betrayal" (Boston Globe), "Katharine Weber is one of the wittiest, most stimulating novelists at work today...wonderful fun and endlessly provocative" (Chicago Tribune),"Succulently inventive" (Washington Post),"Her most delectable novel yet" (L.A. Times).
Her sixth book, a memoir called The Memory of All That: George Gershwin, Kay Swift, and My Family's Legacy of Infidelities, published in 2011, won raves from the critics, from Ben Brantley in the New York Times ("Ms. Weber is able to arrange words musically, so that they capture the elusive, unfinished melodies that haunt our memories of childhood") to the Dallas Morning News ("gracefully written, poignant and droll"), the NY Daily News ("Old Scandals, what fun...the core of her tale is that of elegant sin and betrayal"), and the Boston Globe (a masterful memoir of the private world of a very public family"), among others.
Katharine was the Richard L. Thomas Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Kenyon College for seven years. She has taught creative writing at Yale University (for eight years), and was an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the graduate writing program in the School of the Arts at Columbia University for six years. She has taught at various international writing workshops, from the Paris Writers Workshop several summers in a row to the San Miguel de Allende Writers Conference and the West Cork Literary Festival in Ireland.
All of Katharine's books have been republished in paperback, some of them in more than one edition, and all are available as e-books. Take note, book groups! In these pandemic times, Zoom visits to book groups can be arranged.
Her eighth book, JANE OF HEARTS AND OTHER STORIES (Paul Dry Books, March 2022), is a collection of somewhat linked stories and a novella.
Her seventh book, the novel STILL LIFE WITH MONKEY (Paul Dry Books), had rave reviews and praise:
"Stark and compelling . . . Rigorously unsentimental yet suffused with emotion: possibly the best work yet from an always stimulating writer."―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Katharine Weber's Still Life With Monkey is a beautifully wrought paean of praise for the ordinary pleasures taken for granted by the able-bodied. In precise and often luminous prose, with intelligence and tenderness, Weber's latest novel examines the question of what makes a life worth living."―Washington Post
"[A] deeply but delicately penetrating novel."―New York Times Book Review
"Weber's unsentimental and poignant examination of what does and does not make life worth living is a heartbreaking triumph."―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A brilliantly crafted novel, brimming with heart."―Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage
Katharine's previous novel, True Confections, the story of a chocolate candy factory in crisis, was published in 2010. Critics raved: "A great American tale" (New York Times Book Review), "Marvelous, a vividly imagined story about love, obsession and betrayal" (Boston Globe), "Katharine Weber is one of the wittiest, most stimulating novelists at work today...wonderful fun and endlessly provocative" (Chicago Tribune),"Succulently inventive" (Washington Post),"Her most delectable novel yet" (L.A. Times).
Her sixth book, a memoir called The Memory of All That: George Gershwin, Kay Swift, and My Family's Legacy of Infidelities, published in 2011, won raves from the critics, from Ben Brantley in the New York Times ("Ms. Weber is able to arrange words musically, so that they capture the elusive, unfinished melodies that haunt our memories of childhood") to the Dallas Morning News ("gracefully written, poignant and droll"), the NY Daily News ("Old Scandals, what fun...the core of her tale is that of elegant sin and betrayal"), and the Boston Globe (a masterful memoir of the private world of a very public family"), among others.
Katharine was the Richard L. Thomas Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Kenyon College for seven years. She has taught creative writing at Yale University (for eight years), and was an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the graduate writing program in the School of the Arts at Columbia University for six years. She has taught at various international writing workshops, from the Paris Writers Workshop several summers in a row to the San Miguel de Allende Writers Conference and the West Cork Literary Festival in Ireland.
All of Katharine's books have been republished in paperback, some of them in more than one edition, and all are available as e-books. Take note, book groups! In these pandemic times, Zoom visits to book groups can be arranged.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
March 13, 2011
This book had so much promise - a historical event, a secret, a consideration of how history is remembered and reinterpreted according to people's personal agendas - but it was just not good. No, the parts about the Triangle fire were great, mostly because the event itself is so compelling, but all the subplots were so, so tiresome. It seemed as if the author had chosen a project that she wasn't skilled enough to complete, so she skipped over all the hardest-to-write parts and tried to write around them with a bunch of cutesy dialog. If you spend most of the book writing in the pluperfect - summarizing all the things that have happened because you don't know how to write them happening in real time - the parts that you do put in the present have to be really good. But they were just painfully stupid conversations about the least important aspects of the story and all the big revelations and reactions and thinking were done offstage. Plus, the secret is easily guessed from, well, the dedication page, but all the details surrounding the secret are left as loose ends because the big reveal is supposed to enough. It isn't. I should have just read a non-fiction book about the fire.
December 24, 2015
When historical fiction is done well, it’s my favorite genre, but when an author takes too many liberties with the facts, it really gets on my nerves. This author not only invented fictional victims of the Triangle Fire, she tried to pull off a surprise ending, and frankly, I just didn’t get it. The only reason I’m giving the book 2 stars instead of the hated 1 is that the characters were compelling enough to keep me reading till the end. The “herstorian� (feminist historian) was especially, albeit hatefully, well done.
If you want to learn about the Triangle Fire, don’t bother with this book. Instead I recommend by . Why try and learn history through fiction when you can read a real history that’s as gripping as a novel?
If you want to learn about the Triangle Fire, don’t bother with this book. Instead I recommend by . Why try and learn history through fiction when you can read a real history that’s as gripping as a novel?
May 28, 2007
I absolutely loved this book and keep recommending it to anyone who loves to learn about history through story. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and the fire that killed so many women is not exactly up there in history classes with the wars, kings and blah de blah public schools keep feeding our children. Its time and place and workers come alive in this book. (a sadly eerie affect for me too while reading it was the strange mirror of the women jumping/stepping out of the 7th and 8th floor windows to fall to their deaths rather than be burnt alive, reflected in the images of people doing the same from the Twin Towers on 9/11.)
There is the equally important contemporary story, as well, of the survivor of the fire, her niece, and her niece's partner, who is the rather genius musician. We see the fragility and strength of human memory, which is never separate from our emotions, desires, our grief and our hopes. Live long enough, and memory becomes a web, rewoven if broken, perhaps seeming to look different to the eye but made from the same silk as the original experience. It can also be woven by another through compassion, empathy, anger or loss into music.
The metaphors of triangles throughout the book was delightful. And I have to tell you, I was compelled to go online after reading "Triangle" not only to look up more info on the original fire, but to look up Serpinski triangles -- and guess what? There are sites online that actually play music (that computer generated stuff!) based on Serpinski triangles. At least it gave me a notion (however digital) of what math might sound like.
There is the equally important contemporary story, as well, of the survivor of the fire, her niece, and her niece's partner, who is the rather genius musician. We see the fragility and strength of human memory, which is never separate from our emotions, desires, our grief and our hopes. Live long enough, and memory becomes a web, rewoven if broken, perhaps seeming to look different to the eye but made from the same silk as the original experience. It can also be woven by another through compassion, empathy, anger or loss into music.
The metaphors of triangles throughout the book was delightful. And I have to tell you, I was compelled to go online after reading "Triangle" not only to look up more info on the original fire, but to look up Serpinski triangles -- and guess what? There are sites online that actually play music (that computer generated stuff!) based on Serpinski triangles. At least it gave me a notion (however digital) of what math might sound like.
November 18, 2011
Katharine Weber's central story of the 1911 tragic fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory has SO much potential....but, the end product just doesn't hold together for me. Esther Gottesfields, an immigrant and factory worker who survives the fire, is a sympathetic and interesting central character. The social-economic conditions are vivid and dramatic. What goes wrong? The author fractures her story between the grand daughter (who searches for the fire story,) her husband (who obsesses over his academic music career), and then the most awful, unprofessional "feminist" academic card board character who sees everything as power point and career enhancement. The later character was aggressive, abusive, self centered, and unbelievably unprofessional -- "oh, by the way I'm taping this...that is ok, isn't it?" It seemed to me the author couldn't develop the story beyond the basic idea (a great one), so used a lot of filler.
August 25, 2010
I am still completely under the spell of this book -- it kept me up past one in the morning because I couldn't put it down until I had finished reading. The novel introduces us to Rebecca Gottesfeld, her partner, the composer George Botkin, and Rebecca's grandmother Esther, the last living survivor of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. As we follow their lives in New York City over the late summer and fall of 2001, we are also often plunged into the past as we hear, over and over, Esther's account of the fire -- which was, until 9/11, New York's most devastating workplace disaster: we read Esther's courtroom testimony, transcripts of her interviews with a scholar researching the fire, and the story she has told Rebecca and George. As we read, we discover slight inconsistencies in Esther's story and start to realize they they might not just be the result of an elderly woman's faulty memory. It is a tightly-woven novel that knits together the three individual stories and the two huge disasters in a delicate and haunting piece of writing.
August 1, 2009
I first learned about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in my women's studies class my freshman year of college. I saw this book on the shelf and pulled it off in the hopes that it might center around this event, and it did, but it did so much more. Not only did this give an incredibly vivid account of what it must have been like to work in the factory and also be in the fire, but it also described life as an immigrant, a worker with no rights, and a woman living around the turn of the century. I also loved Rebecca's partner, George--though normally sublplots like that have me bored and skimming, I was mesmerized by George and how he composes. I found myself enjoying those parts as much as the parts about the fire.
If that wasn't enough, Weber makes this into a mystery--as her grandmother's account of the fire has some holes in it. This was a great, quick read. Recommend it highly.
If that wasn't enough, Weber makes this into a mystery--as her grandmother's account of the fire has some holes in it. This was a great, quick read. Recommend it highly.
August 14, 2010
The novel is based on the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in 1911 in which 146 people died, mostly young immigrant women. The chapters dealing with the fire were superb and i was also caught up in the story of one survivor's granddaughter and the granddauhter's husband. But wile George's musical theories were interesting, they belonged in a different book. Here, they were too much of a distraction, being completely peripheral to the main story. I'm really sorry that the feminist historian was a caricature rather than a real person. I know that academics are ripe for parody and I have no problem with that. But does any scholar actually use the term "herstory"? This character abandoned reality to become a silly cartoon and that detracted from my enjoyment of the novel. Esther's big secret was pretty obvious early on, but that wasn't really an impediment to enjoying the book. All in all, the book is worth reading, but i wish it had lived up to its potential.
February 3, 2008
An unfortunate waste of a great idea. In 1911, a garment sweatshop burned, killing over 100 people. The premise of this book is a good one--what is the true memory of the last survivor of that tragedy, and what really happened that day, and why. There are distracting subplots--one about a composer who writes music based on science could have been a good book on it's own. The dialog is stilted and at times cutesy, but all the parts that are interviews with the survivor, or her recounting her memories, are good.
June 22, 2009
The author cleverly brings together a work of historical fiction, a unique theory of music composition, and the story of a contemporary relationship. The historical fiction centers around the notorious 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the personal story of its oldest survivor and her recollection of the horrendous conditions of the workers who were primarily immigrants. There's a mystery surrounding the circumstances of her survival which unfolds as the story of her granddaughter and her relationship with a brilliant musician develops. Playing into the mix of characters is a caricature of a driven feminist historian and her own research about the fire. An interesting read for sure. Thanks for the loan of the book, Marilyn.
February 28, 2012
Usually I know right where I'm going when I write a review but this book has me a bit stymied because of its thematic content. It is brilliant and beautifully written, literate and musical at the same time. It tackles great themes and does it subtly yet with a great strength. It is one of the finest books I've ever read.
The story is about the Triangle Factory fire which was, prior to 9/11, the worst tragedy that ever befell New York. One hundred forty-six men, women and children were killed in a fire that occurred in a sweat shop on the lower east side of Manhattan. This fire helped spur unions to grow and protect workers. Had there been exits available when the fire occurred, almost all of the deaths could have been prevented. As the story opens, Esther Gottesfeld is 106 years old, the oldest survivor of the 1911 tragedy. It is shortly after 9/11 and the two events are synchronous in the story-telling. Esther is being interviewed by an arrogant feminist scholar, Ruth Zion, who is trying to find out information about the fire and pry secrets out of Esther. Esther is too wise and cagey for Ruth Zion to get very far.
The story is also about Esther's granddaughter, Rebecca, who lives with George Botkin, the most famous composer of contemporary U.S. music. He writes music about DNA strands, chemistry, echinacea, and Huntington's Disease (which he may have inherited). His music is loved by a wide audience.
The story weaves back and forth in time and between characters. The strongest parts of the book are those about Esther while the most original parts of the book are about George and Rebecca. There are secrets to be found out and secrets to be kept. One fascinating theme in the book is the connections between the Triangle Fire, 9/11, and music - another triangle. We find out that Rebecca and George share similar DNA strands. For two people very much in love, this seems serendipitous but also sweet.
The ending of this book is dreamlike and written in stream of consciousness. I could not come up for air as its beauty swept me with it like a tide. The last 40 pages are as beautiful as anything I've ever read. I highly recommend this book.
The story is about the Triangle Factory fire which was, prior to 9/11, the worst tragedy that ever befell New York. One hundred forty-six men, women and children were killed in a fire that occurred in a sweat shop on the lower east side of Manhattan. This fire helped spur unions to grow and protect workers. Had there been exits available when the fire occurred, almost all of the deaths could have been prevented. As the story opens, Esther Gottesfeld is 106 years old, the oldest survivor of the 1911 tragedy. It is shortly after 9/11 and the two events are synchronous in the story-telling. Esther is being interviewed by an arrogant feminist scholar, Ruth Zion, who is trying to find out information about the fire and pry secrets out of Esther. Esther is too wise and cagey for Ruth Zion to get very far.
The story is also about Esther's granddaughter, Rebecca, who lives with George Botkin, the most famous composer of contemporary U.S. music. He writes music about DNA strands, chemistry, echinacea, and Huntington's Disease (which he may have inherited). His music is loved by a wide audience.
The story weaves back and forth in time and between characters. The strongest parts of the book are those about Esther while the most original parts of the book are about George and Rebecca. There are secrets to be found out and secrets to be kept. One fascinating theme in the book is the connections between the Triangle Fire, 9/11, and music - another triangle. We find out that Rebecca and George share similar DNA strands. For two people very much in love, this seems serendipitous but also sweet.
The ending of this book is dreamlike and written in stream of consciousness. I could not come up for air as its beauty swept me with it like a tide. The last 40 pages are as beautiful as anything I've ever read. I highly recommend this book.
June 17, 2011
This book is beautifully written, haunting, and thought-provoking. As I read this historical tale-cum-mystery, I wanted my stepson to read it (musical composition), my walking partner to read it (ethical questions), my colleagues to read it (can we use it in class? are feminist scholars that ...), my book club to read it (Triangle Fire and its resonances in the Jewish community) ... and I could not put it down.
The novel traces the parallel lives of Esther Gottesfeld, the last known survivor of the Triangle Factory fire, and her granddaughter Rebecca. Esther's story is partly re-told through newspaper articles, transcripts of interviews, and the trial transcripts. Her encounters with Ruth Zion, feminist herstorical scholar specializing in the Triangle fire provide much food for thought (and not a little squirming): do historians really ask those kinds of questions? are actions over-thought and incorrectly interpreted? Rebecca's care for her grandmother, for her composer beau, and for her patient/clients as a genetic counselor are all knit together in surprising, and moving ways. I learned some new things, and have been re-examining some "known" issues. A tremendously enjoyable read!
The novel traces the parallel lives of Esther Gottesfeld, the last known survivor of the Triangle Factory fire, and her granddaughter Rebecca. Esther's story is partly re-told through newspaper articles, transcripts of interviews, and the trial transcripts. Her encounters with Ruth Zion, feminist herstorical scholar specializing in the Triangle fire provide much food for thought (and not a little squirming): do historians really ask those kinds of questions? are actions over-thought and incorrectly interpreted? Rebecca's care for her grandmother, for her composer beau, and for her patient/clients as a genetic counselor are all knit together in surprising, and moving ways. I learned some new things, and have been re-examining some "known" issues. A tremendously enjoyable read!
September 27, 2010
This book had so much potential, but didn't live up to it for me.
Esther is the last living survivor of the 1911 Triangle factory fire. How did she manage to survive on a day when so many others died, including her twin sister, Pauline, and her fiance, Sam? Ruth, a feminist historian, is determined to take a thorough and accurate oral history. She senses that Esther isn't being consistent and is determined to find out why, through repeated interviews.
If the book had just been those interviews and Esther's story, I would have loved it. It was riveting. Unfortunately, there's a second storyline that deals with Rebecca, Esther's granddaughter, and the work that Rebecca's husband does (he's a composer whose music is based on formulations found in nature, especially genetic codes). This part dragged. I was so anxious to get back to what felt like the real meat of the story.
There's a difficult and delicate balance to find when alternating narratives like this, and this book just didn't have that necessary balance for me. But the parts dealing with Esther were compelling, and I would recommend those to interested readers.
Esther is the last living survivor of the 1911 Triangle factory fire. How did she manage to survive on a day when so many others died, including her twin sister, Pauline, and her fiance, Sam? Ruth, a feminist historian, is determined to take a thorough and accurate oral history. She senses that Esther isn't being consistent and is determined to find out why, through repeated interviews.
If the book had just been those interviews and Esther's story, I would have loved it. It was riveting. Unfortunately, there's a second storyline that deals with Rebecca, Esther's granddaughter, and the work that Rebecca's husband does (he's a composer whose music is based on formulations found in nature, especially genetic codes). This part dragged. I was so anxious to get back to what felt like the real meat of the story.
There's a difficult and delicate balance to find when alternating narratives like this, and this book just didn't have that necessary balance for me. But the parts dealing with Esther were compelling, and I would recommend those to interested readers.
February 9, 2020
I thought this was fabulous! It was odd though that it was rooted in such history and reality but still fiction. Weber did a really good job of describing the music elements that as a reader I was just like, "How does this not exist?!" I really wish it did because the Triangle Oratorio would be amazing.
The only fault was that Grosse Pointe was spelled without an e. Damn them.
—â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä�
I just reread (finished 2/8/2020) Triangle after finding a copy for $5 at Powell’s, and still feel about the same as I did before. The Grosse Pointe misspelling really makes me angry but I’m sure that’s a Grosse Pointer specific problem. I really do like this story though, and think also this would be a great movie if someone is looking to adapt a screenplay.
The only fault was that Grosse Pointe was spelled without an e. Damn them.
—â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä�
I just reread (finished 2/8/2020) Triangle after finding a copy for $5 at Powell’s, and still feel about the same as I did before. The Grosse Pointe misspelling really makes me angry but I’m sure that’s a Grosse Pointer specific problem. I really do like this story though, and think also this would be a great movie if someone is looking to adapt a screenplay.
February 9, 2010
Can you have a book that you just loved, that you wouldn't recommend to anyone?
If so, Triangle is that book for me. Reading the horrific description of the Triangle Shirtwaist Building fire, not once but many times during the book left me wrecked inside. Descriptive is an understatement. This is an emotional roller coaster, both because of the plot and because the reader becomes so wrapped up in the characters. It's too much, really.
But behind those terrible moments is an essential truth and beauty in this book. Is it worth weeping spontaneously for a week to experience? Perhaps. It was for me.
If so, Triangle is that book for me. Reading the horrific description of the Triangle Shirtwaist Building fire, not once but many times during the book left me wrecked inside. Descriptive is an understatement. This is an emotional roller coaster, both because of the plot and because the reader becomes so wrapped up in the characters. It's too much, really.
But behind those terrible moments is an essential truth and beauty in this book. Is it worth weeping spontaneously for a week to experience? Perhaps. It was for me.
July 6, 2008
Loved it - read it within 24 hours. Picked it up at The Strand for ONE DOLLAR! The Triangle fire happened kitty-corner from where we're living, so I can SEE the building from our window. Fascinating to be so near history. Plus the book had a lot of folds and layers and was just well-written. Loved it.
December 9, 2016
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911 is an endlessly fascinating subject to mine for literature (fiction and non). There are lots of unknowns there, and plenty to be angry about. There's also the fact that, when you consider the creation of less expensive clothing, what happened in a little building in New York is by no means an event of the past. Just go to Bangladesh to visit the crumbling buildings where the young ladies work away at the Primark "bargains" to see what I mean.
But this book isn't about that; well, not really. One character is a survivor of the Fire. She's the last survivor, as a matter of fact. If it were just about her, I would have found it to be a satisfying read. Heavens knows there's enough meat on that bone to keep any novelist happy. What we get instead is a sort of meditation on music theory, mystery and intimacy that, for me, didn't quite gel.
George is a composer who has unusual inspirations for his masterpieces. He and Rebecca meet thanks to the scheming of their respective elderly relatives and form a relationship that works for them, though nobody else understands it, apparently. When Rebecca's grandmother, the last survivor of the Triangle Fire, passes away, the mystery begins.
Part of my disappointment with Triangle is that I determined what the secret was before Rebecca's grandmother passed. Then toward the end of the book, another mystery is sort of trotted out but not resolved. So, not only was there a "mystery" that wasn't a mystery, but there was a loose end that nobody bothered to weave in. Both frustrating, if in different ways. There were also lengthy segues into the creation of pieces of music that simply didn't interest me and, until the end of the book really didn't fit into the story as a whole.
Finally, there was a character I actively loathed and this person kept popping up at various points, just when I was getting used to the rhythms of the more intelligent members of the ensemble. I'm not sure if they were meant to be comic relief, a villain, or just another bit of interesting story, but I just prayed they would go away soon whenever they appeared.
All in all, a bit disappointing. There were glints of the story I was hoping to read, but they were all too infrequent.
But this book isn't about that; well, not really. One character is a survivor of the Fire. She's the last survivor, as a matter of fact. If it were just about her, I would have found it to be a satisfying read. Heavens knows there's enough meat on that bone to keep any novelist happy. What we get instead is a sort of meditation on music theory, mystery and intimacy that, for me, didn't quite gel.
George is a composer who has unusual inspirations for his masterpieces. He and Rebecca meet thanks to the scheming of their respective elderly relatives and form a relationship that works for them, though nobody else understands it, apparently. When Rebecca's grandmother, the last survivor of the Triangle Fire, passes away, the mystery begins.
Part of my disappointment with Triangle is that I determined what the secret was before Rebecca's grandmother passed. Then toward the end of the book, another mystery is sort of trotted out but not resolved. So, not only was there a "mystery" that wasn't a mystery, but there was a loose end that nobody bothered to weave in. Both frustrating, if in different ways. There were also lengthy segues into the creation of pieces of music that simply didn't interest me and, until the end of the book really didn't fit into the story as a whole.
Finally, there was a character I actively loathed and this person kept popping up at various points, just when I was getting used to the rhythms of the more intelligent members of the ensemble. I'm not sure if they were meant to be comic relief, a villain, or just another bit of interesting story, but I just prayed they would go away soon whenever they appeared.
All in all, a bit disappointing. There were glints of the story I was hoping to read, but they were all too infrequent.
August 25, 2010
A great story in such compact writing. There's really 2 stories, the one about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, which I really don't know much about, and the other about the composer who creates music based on DNA--I think that could have been a stand alone novel by itself. So much research, not just on the fire and music, but also Yiddish, Huntingdon's disease, etc. I kept thinking, I need to look up this word, but I didn't want to stop reading. Perhaps I'm slow, but when Esther repeats her testimony over and over, it wasn't until near the end that I saw the discprencies.
The only thing that didn't make sense to me was when the researcher left the cat out on the windowsill, perhaps I was missing something or it was just to break up the tension. Cute cover, the idea that you're "unbuttoning" the truth (or buttoning it up depending how you look at it.)
(spoiler) I think the reason why Pauline took the money was payback for being raped, not for her testimony.
(copied review) Esther Gottesfeld is the last living survivor of the notorious 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire and has told her story countless times in the span of her lifetime. Even so, her death at the age of 106 leaves unanswered many questions about what happened that fateful day. How did she manage to survive the fire when at least 146 workers, most of them women, her sister and fiancé among them, burned or jumped to their deaths from the sweatshop inferno? Are the discrepancies in her various accounts over the years just ordinary human fallacy, or is there a hidden story in Esther’s recollections of that terrible day? Esther’s granddaughter Rebecca Gottesfeld, with her partner George Botkin, an ingenious composer, seek to unravel the facts of the matter while Ruth Zion, a zealous feminist historian of the fire, bores in on them with her own mole-like agenda. A brilliant, haunting novel about one of the most terrible tragedies in early twentieth-century America, Triangle forces us to consider how we tell our stories, how we hear them, and how history is forged from unverifiable truths. Wrote The Music Lesson
The only thing that didn't make sense to me was when the researcher left the cat out on the windowsill, perhaps I was missing something or it was just to break up the tension. Cute cover, the idea that you're "unbuttoning" the truth (or buttoning it up depending how you look at it.)
(spoiler) I think the reason why Pauline took the money was payback for being raped, not for her testimony.
(copied review) Esther Gottesfeld is the last living survivor of the notorious 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire and has told her story countless times in the span of her lifetime. Even so, her death at the age of 106 leaves unanswered many questions about what happened that fateful day. How did she manage to survive the fire when at least 146 workers, most of them women, her sister and fiancé among them, burned or jumped to their deaths from the sweatshop inferno? Are the discrepancies in her various accounts over the years just ordinary human fallacy, or is there a hidden story in Esther’s recollections of that terrible day? Esther’s granddaughter Rebecca Gottesfeld, with her partner George Botkin, an ingenious composer, seek to unravel the facts of the matter while Ruth Zion, a zealous feminist historian of the fire, bores in on them with her own mole-like agenda. A brilliant, haunting novel about one of the most terrible tragedies in early twentieth-century America, Triangle forces us to consider how we tell our stories, how we hear them, and how history is forged from unverifiable truths. Wrote The Music Lesson
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2009
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for stories of avoidable disaster, and the Triangle Factory fire in 1911 was nothing if not avoidable. Many that's why I liked this? It is something like a conceptual novel - andÌýthe writing almost always falls flat under the weight of One Good Idea - but not in this case. There is a large amount of repetition - the same long story is told at least five separate times - but the plot (such as it is.) centers - rotates - around memory and loss and grief and love, and each time we read the story again, it has a different meaning - because the truth, as we know it, has changed in some way. (Or look on it as post-traumatic-stress-disorder: the mind re-visiting the scene of a trauma.)
And this is a terrible review - I can't just describe this accurately without giving it away. But just like with The Little Women, also by Weber & which I happened to read on the same day as Triangle, I enjoyed this far more than a meagre three stars - but maybe I just like repetitive slow-moving stories with a trace of mystery that center around easily avoidable disasters which affected a disproportionate amount of poor young immigrant women in the early 20th century and the present-day research methodology that falls into Feminist Pits as it attempts to understand the intersection of memory on past and present, please add something about conceptual music. - But my enjoyment doesn't necessarily have much to do with how good the book is. And I must be true to the star honor rating!
(Okay, it's how-to-predict-disaster-time: don't give the fire department ladders that go up to the top of the building! Hmm, but wasn't that because the ladders were too heavy (at that length) to be stable? Those poor immigrant girls. Grrls. Women. Womyn.)
And this is a terrible review - I can't just describe this accurately without giving it away. But just like with The Little Women, also by Weber & which I happened to read on the same day as Triangle, I enjoyed this far more than a meagre three stars - but maybe I just like repetitive slow-moving stories with a trace of mystery that center around easily avoidable disasters which affected a disproportionate amount of poor young immigrant women in the early 20th century and the present-day research methodology that falls into Feminist Pits as it attempts to understand the intersection of memory on past and present, please add something about conceptual music. - But my enjoyment doesn't necessarily have much to do with how good the book is. And I must be true to the star honor rating!
(Okay, it's how-to-predict-disaster-time: don't give the fire department ladders that go up to the top of the building! Hmm, but wasn't that because the ladders were too heavy (at that length) to be stable? Those poor immigrant girls. Grrls. Women. Womyn.)
March 21, 2011
This is the centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire so it seemed fitting to find this book at the library. It was the memory of the fire that kept me reading too, because the first chapters almost made me give up on the book. One of the main characters is a composer, and the chapter about him seemed to have the sole purpose of showing off the author's knowledge about music. Likewise with the chapter about another main character, a geneticist -- and again, we learn that the author knows lots about genetics. More than we need to know. But then we get into the meat of the story -- Esther's story, a centenarian who is the last survivor of the Triangle fire. She is the grandmother of Rebecca, the geneticist, whose boyfriend is the composer. A feminist historian is trying to wring some hidden truths from Esther to complete her new book on the fire. Here the author takes us through Esther's version(s) of the fire, from an ILGWU pamphlet, from the transcript of the trial of the owners of the factory (they were acquitted of any malfeasance, though 146 workers perished in the fire), from her multiple interviews with the historian. Slowly, we get to know who Esther is and all she has been through. The final chapters -- where we return to music and memory -- are riveting, so I am glad I stuck with it.
October 30, 2008
"This is what happened." Or is it? I enjoyed Triangle very much. It's one of those novels that is set in the present, but flashes back, over and over, to the past. The past here is the Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911, the worst NY disaster before the attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11. The present concerns the life of a woman named Rebecca, whose grandmother, Esther, was the oldest living survivor of the terrible New York fire. Rebecca is married to George, an innovative composer. Through the course of the novel the reader comes to understand the nature of George's music, with its themes and variations, and the true nature of what happened to Rebecca's grandmother in the sweatshop where she worked. I imagine some readers will find all the music theory tiresome, and will be impatient with the repetition of Esther's often told story. But patience will pay off. It all fits together in the end, and like powerful music, will move your heart.
July 18, 2009
From the front cover to the last page of this book, I found surprises. For example, it took me a couple of glances to see the cover (there are buttons) in the way the author would want me to see them.
In the body of this novel, I found the major characters to be fascinating. We have Esther who survived the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, her granddaughter who is a genetic counselor, her lover who writes amazing music and a pain-in-the-neck feminist. I was amazed that anyone could make any story with these people.
Katherine Weber makes a wonderful story, as I said, with plenty of surprises. How she brings these disparate parts to tell the whole - with an unexpected ending is something only a good writer could ever do.
In the body of this novel, I found the major characters to be fascinating. We have Esther who survived the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, her granddaughter who is a genetic counselor, her lover who writes amazing music and a pain-in-the-neck feminist. I was amazed that anyone could make any story with these people.
Katherine Weber makes a wonderful story, as I said, with plenty of surprises. How she brings these disparate parts to tell the whole - with an unexpected ending is something only a good writer could ever do.
November 26, 2010
The last living survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire leaves many unanswered questions about the fire. Ruth, a feminist historian, contacts Esther's granddaughter to seek answers but Rebecca never suspected her grandmother was hiding anything, until she begins to listen to Ruth's seemingly wild theories.
Half of this book is very interesting but Weber includes a parallel story about Rebecca's significant other, George, who writes powerful and affecting music based on patterns in nature. She includes a tremendous amount of detail about his process but does not succeed in tying it to Esther and Rebecca's story. Intricately plotted; occasional biting humor; somber and thought-provoking; stylistically complex writing with some exceptional passages.
Half of this book is very interesting but Weber includes a parallel story about Rebecca's significant other, George, who writes powerful and affecting music based on patterns in nature. She includes a tremendous amount of detail about his process but does not succeed in tying it to Esther and Rebecca's story. Intricately plotted; occasional biting humor; somber and thought-provoking; stylistically complex writing with some exceptional passages.
August 30, 2008
Three characters: the 101 year old survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire; the younger couple trying to figure out what really happened; and the music created out from such inspirations as a DNA helix or a protein string. Surprisingly beautiful in the parts involving the couple and the music. Jarring when reliving the fire.
My only quabble with the book is that the old woman is reflected in her interviews with someone who really annoys her. Not knowing about the interviewer until later in the book, I simply found the old woman unsympathetic at first.
Still, a good read and interesting historical information.
My only quabble with the book is that the old woman is reflected in her interviews with someone who really annoys her. Not knowing about the interviewer until later in the book, I simply found the old woman unsympathetic at first.
Still, a good read and interesting historical information.
August 1, 2021
The 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire with its eerie resonances to 9/11 and a recent documentary to mark its anniversary, is well-known in New York.Ìý But I had never heard of it until it was mentioned in . One of the stories we read referenced Jewish girls migrating from the shtetl to work in the garment factories of New York.
Although based on this real-life historical event, TriangleÌýis not an historical novel nor (despite its back-cover blurb) a 'mystery', (which might account for some of the disappointment seen in Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ reviews).Ìý It is an exploration of truth, a satire of dour, misdirected feminism, and an homage to the dead.
The book begins with a poem called 'Shirt', followed by the fictional Esther's account of the fire, 'transcribed' from her recollections for a 1961 commemorative booklet.Ìý It is is vivid, and horrifying: the sudden explosion, the rapid spread of fire across the overcrowded room, the smell and the smoke and the girls trapped by their long skirts as they tried to crawl under the tables to the door, which could not be opened.Ìý The firemen's ladders were too short to reach the ninth floor, and the net with which they tried to catch the girls who jumped from the windows wasn't strong enough.Ìý Esther, who remembered another door that the girls were never supposed to use, escaped upstairs and across a perilous ladder to an adjacent building.
Chapter Two, however, brings the reader to the present day.Ìý We read about the eccentric genius George Botkin, who composes music which translates molecular structures such as DNA into melodies.Ìý George is the long-term boyfriend of Esther's granddaughter Rebecca and he sits and sings with her as Esther comes to the end of her very long life in a nursing home. Rebecca and George are very fond of each other but what holds them back from marriage is George's genetic heritage of Huntingdon's Disease, the consequences of which they know only too well because of Rebecca's counselling work in clinical genetics.Ìý The strength of their relationship, however, is what enables them to deal with Ruth Zion, a feminist academic who is determined to shoehorn Esther's horrific experience into her own agenda.
Chapters Four and Seven are 'transcripts' of Ruth's interviews with Esther, fossicking around the inconsistencies in Esther's story.Ìý Esther gets quite testy with Ruth, and from her conversations and behaviour with Rebecca, we can see why.Ìý Author of "Gendered Space in the Workplace, Past, Present and Future" and her forthcoming 812-page 'Out of the Frying pan: Women and Children last' Ruth is insensitive, bombastic, unprincipled, long-winded and often laugh-out-loud funny though that is not what she intends.
To read the rest of my review please visit
TheÌýTriangle Shirtwaist Factory fireÌýin theÌýGreenwich Village neighbourhood ofÌýManhattan,ÌýNew York City, on March 25, 1911, was the deadliestÌýindustrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history.Ìý The fire caused the deaths of 146Ìýgarment workers â€� 123 women and girls and 23 menÌýâ€� who died from the fire,Ìýsmoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. Most of the victims were recentÌýItalianÌýorÌýJewish immigrant women and girls aged 14 to 23; of the victims whose ages are known, the oldest victim was 43-year-old Providenza Panno, and the youngest were 14-year-olds Kate Leone and Rosaria "Sara" Maltese.
The factory was located on the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of theÌýAsch Building, at 23â€�29 Washington Place, nearÌýWashington Square Park. The 1901 building still stands today and is now known as theÌýBrown Building. It is part of and owned byÌýNew York University.
Because the doors to the stairwells and exits were locked—a common practice at the time to prevent workers from taking unauthorized breaks and to reduce theft—many of the workers could not escape from the burning building and jumped from the high windows. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standardsÌýand helped spur the growth of theÌýInternational Ladies' Garment Workers' UnionÌý(ILGWU), which fought for better working conditions forÌýsweatshopÌýworkers.
The building has been designated a National Historic Landmark and a New York City landmark.Ìý (, viewed 31/7/21, lightly edited to remove superfluous links and footnotes)
Although based on this real-life historical event, TriangleÌýis not an historical novel nor (despite its back-cover blurb) a 'mystery', (which might account for some of the disappointment seen in Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ reviews).Ìý It is an exploration of truth, a satire of dour, misdirected feminism, and an homage to the dead.
The book begins with a poem called 'Shirt', followed by the fictional Esther's account of the fire, 'transcribed' from her recollections for a 1961 commemorative booklet.Ìý It is is vivid, and horrifying: the sudden explosion, the rapid spread of fire across the overcrowded room, the smell and the smoke and the girls trapped by their long skirts as they tried to crawl under the tables to the door, which could not be opened.Ìý The firemen's ladders were too short to reach the ninth floor, and the net with which they tried to catch the girls who jumped from the windows wasn't strong enough.Ìý Esther, who remembered another door that the girls were never supposed to use, escaped upstairs and across a perilous ladder to an adjacent building.
I had to sit down on the curb, I was weak, and there was blood running past me over my shoes, it was water from the fire hoses mixed with blood, it was like a river of blood running past me, it was so terrible, and I just sat there letting it run over my shoes and I couldn't even open my mouth anymore like I forgot how to talk English and I just watched.Ìý Everywhere on the street there was money.Ìý Coins from everyone's pockets, because it was payday and so in their pockets and their stockings they had their money, and it fell out from the pay packets or wherever they were carrying it, and it was all over the street.Ìý They told us before we came here, in America the streets are paved with gold, and this day it was true, but so terrible, to see this money in the gutter.Ìý For what did they work so hard, but to have this money? (p.12)
Chapter Two, however, brings the reader to the present day.Ìý We read about the eccentric genius George Botkin, who composes music which translates molecular structures such as DNA into melodies.Ìý George is the long-term boyfriend of Esther's granddaughter Rebecca and he sits and sings with her as Esther comes to the end of her very long life in a nursing home. Rebecca and George are very fond of each other but what holds them back from marriage is George's genetic heritage of Huntingdon's Disease, the consequences of which they know only too well because of Rebecca's counselling work in clinical genetics.Ìý The strength of their relationship, however, is what enables them to deal with Ruth Zion, a feminist academic who is determined to shoehorn Esther's horrific experience into her own agenda.
Chapters Four and Seven are 'transcripts' of Ruth's interviews with Esther, fossicking around the inconsistencies in Esther's story.Ìý Esther gets quite testy with Ruth, and from her conversations and behaviour with Rebecca, we can see why.Ìý Author of "Gendered Space in the Workplace, Past, Present and Future" and her forthcoming 812-page 'Out of the Frying pan: Women and Children last' Ruth is insensitive, bombastic, unprincipled, long-winded and often laugh-out-loud funny though that is not what she intends.
To read the rest of my review please visit
February 21, 2008
A riveting account of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911 by its oldest living survivor, Esther Gottesfeld. The story includes the reflections of her granddaughter, who is rather perturbed by the historian who seems obsessed with getting to the bottom of that tragic day. Secrets unfold throughout the story and climax at the very end. Great insights into the class struggles of the newly arrived immigrants, many of the fire's victims were Eastern European Jewish immigrants, and the German higher class Jews who owned the factory.
May 24, 2007
This book is not quite what I thought, but I enjoyed it. It has an unexpected story line about a guy who could write music based on DNA that would remind you of the person, disease, etc. I am not musical and skimmed most of the music part but in hindsight, I think it did add to the story.
The story is about a survivor of the Triangle shirtwaist factory. It is a story of the will to survive, survivor's guilt, and the survivor's story.
The story is about a survivor of the Triangle shirtwaist factory. It is a story of the will to survive, survivor's guilt, and the survivor's story.
November 19, 2010
A carefully crafted novel that looks back at the 1911 Triangle factory fire in NYC through the lens of its oldest living survivor in her final days. The determined historian was an overly crass character that seemed a bit over the top, and the transcript repetitions were a bit tedious -- but necessary to catch the subtle slips and inconsistencies that lead to the truth. Ultimately a very satisfying read.
March 9, 2013
Quite a telling story of how one person created a life out of a tragedy.
I had known of this fire but didn't realize any survivor had lived to that great age. (I will nees to check that out.) I found the herstorian to be very abrasive in her actions. Why so much about the composer and his role was troubling until later. I now see how both Rebecca and George could be related back several generations if the sexual abuse part is correct, and it most likely was.
I had known of this fire but didn't realize any survivor had lived to that great age. (I will nees to check that out.) I found the herstorian to be very abrasive in her actions. Why so much about the composer and his role was troubling until later. I now see how both Rebecca and George could be related back several generations if the sexual abuse part is correct, and it most likely was.
November 13, 2017
Although the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire actually happened, the book alternates between that horrific event and a modern-day story that's interesting in its own way. Makes me want to read more about the history of the factory, and I wonder what impact this fire had on the unionization of sweatshops early in the 20th century.
April 14, 2008
This is a historical fiction about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in NYC in the early 1900's. It is an insight into the sweatshops where so many young immigrant girls worked after arriving in America. It has a definite twist to the ending. I wasn't sure about this book when I began it but I really did enjoy the book and learned a great deal.
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