The spaghetti factory in the deepest south of Africa binds the lives of three women to its production line. Lizzie turns to God, Anthea to the white boss, Deirdrie turns to herself.

Lyn Hughes’ stories have been sought by Australian magazines ever since she moved to Sydney from South Africa. In her first novel she brings her strongest characters together under the one roof of The Factory

The writing is so strong, the violence and hardship so palpable, the reader feels marked by acid burns.

But the women survive—against all odds.

Published by Pascoe Publishing Pty Ltd in 1990.

ISBN 0947087206

Reviews

The Factory was shortlisted for the National Book Council’s Qantas New Writer’s Award.

‘The Factory is her first novel and strong, heady stuff. The bonds between three women on a production line of a spaghetti factory…form the substance of the novel. The integrity of each woman’s decision is explored with enormous compassion and understanding. Violence and hardship are ever present and the manner in which the women’s lives are worked around these realities is quite remarkable. The rawness and insight are reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s Beloved.’ The Sydney Morning Herald

‘Her deceptively simple novel builds in strength through taciturn, short-story-like chapters… The looming authorial presence is mercifully absent, an unusual quality in a first novel, especially one that deals with power and sexual politics. Her spare and sometimes harsh writing occasionally drifts into a more poetic style, but she has such control over her craft that she manages these transitions seamlessly.’ The Australian.

‘…read this novel and listen to Deirdre and her friends talk. Hughes has a wonderful flair with dialogue and a fine sense of the comedy that lurks behind every tragedy. A powerful and very moving book’. Australian Book Review

‘In a Cape Town factory, Lyn Hughes sets the stage for a powerful drama…(she) pulls no punches..(the novel) subtly explores patterns of female giving and taking and inner conflicts about knowledge and power, strength and weakness…in ways that make one look forward to more of Lyn Hughes.’ The Age

‘Hughes can imagine herself into an impressive range of very different people. The way Hughes describes attempts to transcend unpromising circumstances is one of the book’s great strengths. Hughes writes with a vividness and directness that brings freshness to clichéd incidents. Her account of an abortion, for instance, is one of the strongest and most harrowing I’ve read.’ The Canberra Times

‘…a blunt and harrowing account of modern-day South Africa…the women are full of life and utterly believable, which makes their pain very real…an uncompromising first novel and certainly a ‘must-read’. The Tribune.

‘Hughes writes brilliantly, propelling the reader through the narrative just for the pleasure of a style that has the extraordinary quality of being detailed and spare at the same time. The Factory is unusual and alarming. And an extremely good read.’ National Book Council, ‘Top Shelf’

‘Anyone who wants to understand the awesomely painful metamorphosis that South Africa’s Afrikaners will have to endure to heal the cancerous lesion of centuries of racism, guilt and oppression should read Lyn Hughes’ first novel, The Factory. She has captured the rich and tragic ironies of the shadowed world… in language that is as tangy as boerewors sausage, as chilling as the Cape south-easter wind, and as powerful and richly satisfying as a slug of KWV brandy. More, please.’ Herald Mercury