Bright web in the darkness

the long version

Set in the San Francisco Bay area during World War II, Bright Web in the Darkness is a novel that illuminates the role of women workers during the war and the efforts of African Americans to achieve regular standing as union members. The central characters are two young women - one black, one white - who become friends in a welding class and qualify for the shipyard jobs opening to women as male workers are drafted. Sensitively and presciently written, this novel addresses social issues that still demand our attention. A new afterword by Tillie Olsen, author of Tell Me A Riddle, Silences, and Yonnondio, places the novel in historical context.