“Powerful . . . Every page is saturated with the 1930s milieu as the sisters navigate the adversities of their reality on a sea rough with the unrealistic expectations of well-intended idealists both religious and secular. As if to highlight those expectations, Taylor periodically interrupts her third-person narrative with Greek chorus-type commentary from the Scranton-based Isabelle Lumley Bible Class, including excerpts from a 1929 sex manual for women. The overall result is a thought-provoking book club discussion cornucopia.”
—Booklist, Starred review

“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 . . . 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.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A good selection for book clubs, All Waiting Is Long is set in Pennsylvania coal country in the 1930s, a time of tumultuous change and social unrest, including the rise of the eugenics movement. Barbara Taylor’s characters—a cast of nuns and prostitutes, mobsters and miners, social activists and church busybodies—reflect the varying pressures and expectations of small-town life with rich, insightful prose and dialogue that rings true to each character’s voice. Will the web of lies the two sisters weave around themselves survive? You’ll have to read it yourself to find out. Recommended.”
—Historical Novels Review

“Barbara J. Taylor has created another suspenseful page-turner . . . revealing shocking details of enlightened thinking in the 1930s against the backdrop of political corruption, unions, rampant prostitution, coal mine strikes, and judgmental Christians. But it’s Taylor’s finely honed characters and plot twists that make All Waiting Is Long an unforgettable novel.”
—BookMark on WPSU

“In this richly populated community, old ties are either torn or tightened, and the characters left behind when the sisters went off are nicely fleshed out . . . Ms. Taylor writes with total mastery of her craft. Her similes and metaphors are born of a highly developed abstractive sensitivity, and her dialogues are unerringly true to their respective speakers.”
—BookPleasures

“Taylor deftly weaves a tale that quickly pulls you in wondering what will become of [Lily and Violet Morgan] and the lies they’ve propped up around themselves to make it all work. Will their relationship survive? And if the truth were to come out, what would their husbands, family and the townsfolk think? . . . You won’t be disappointed with Taylor’s newest novel.”
—A New Day

“Taylor explores complicated issues with excellent prose and compelling characters. Her excavation of the religious and political context in this place and time is fascinating. She achieves depth and breadth, and tells a great story, too.”
—The Collagist

“A story of love that rises from the depths to create happiness in an unforgiving world . . . A good read.”
—Journey of a Bookseller

“A page turner . . . Taylor very skillfully blends all the many forces determining life in the 1930s into a novel of tremendous strength and compulsive readability.”
—The Cyberlibrarian

“In All Waiting is Long, Taylor once again performs the magic trick of making us fall in love with characters who live in her finely drawn, unforgiving past, and who grapple with the indelible consequences of honor and dishonor, hope and disappointment, and the mystifying nature of tragedy and love. I read this book in two sittings, flying through the pages, seduced.”
—Robin Oliveira, author of I Always Loved You

Praise for Barbara J. Taylor:

“A profound story of how one unforeseen event may tear a family apart, but another can just as unexpectedly bring them back together again.”
—Publishers Weekly on Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night (Best Summer Book for 2014)