Critical Praise

"Plant Life is an American classic. Like Our Town or Winesburg, Ohio, it presents a compelling and moving portrait of an entire community. In this case, it is the life of a cotton mill, and three generations of women who work there---whose whole lives have been determined by the mill. Stark, poetic, funny, gritty, and intense, their stories will move you to tears and make you laugh at the same time. Never have the lives of Southern working women been so well documented, their stories so truly told. Plant Life is a mature work of a great compassion and insight."--- Lee Smith, bestselling author of Fair and Tender Ladies and The Last Girls"Plant Life is sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, but always real. Pamela Duncan doesn't just write a great novel--she pours her heart out onto the page, giving a piece of herself to the reader. Here she is exploring the terroritory she knows best: families and friendships and the friends who feel like family. She tells these people's stories with honor and grace but never a hint of sentimentality. This book is full of the hard-earned wisdom of working people, people who dream and love as hard as they work. Plant Life is a beautiful book from a writer who gets to the soul of the matter."--- Silas House, author of Clay's Quilt and A Parchment of Leaves

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