Imagine walls could actually talk as a New England factory community
faces closure of its signature mill due to environmental contamination
and foreign competition. This story of politics, family life, competing
redevelopment schemes, gossiping locals, and a mother fiercely
protecting her children is told in the voice of common objects--from the
church steeple clock to a Bridgeport milling machine to an umbrella.
They witness a bit of drinking, sex, a suicide, and the hopes and dreams
of the human beings around them. How did these everyday things find
their voice? Readers may never again look at the ordinary objects around
them the same.