Edith Konecky (born New York City, 1922) is most famous for her novel, Allegra Maud Goldman, 1976, about the teenage daughter, born in New York City, of Eastern European Jewish immigrants. The girl is totally American, her parents not so much.
“The Place” is set in a garment business in New York City, in the middle 1930s, a period called now “The Great Depression” in which unemployment was around twenty five percent, many suffered terribly. As the
story open a girl sermingly in her teens has arrived at her father’s garment business. He has about 150 employees and everyone makes a big fuss over “The daughter of the boss”. She hates that as she knows it is phony. She is waiting for her mother to arrive to pick out some outfits. Once Mom shows up the dresser and the three models get to work. Of course her mother has to make comments about hoping her breasts will “fill out” soon. Allegra is friends with another girl, a radical wanting social equality, who tells Allegra her father is a capitalist, stealing the food out of the mouthes of his workers children with low wage.
This is a fun story. Konecky brings out the different personalities of the workers and lets us feel we are at The Place as Allegra calls her father’s business.
The link to the Jewish Women’s Encyclopedia details her literary and Cultural importance.
Mel u
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