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A Harvest of Thorns cover art

A Harvest of Thorns

By: Corban Addison
Narrated by: Firdous Bamji
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Summary

Corbin Addison explores the human stories behind global labor sourcing in the international fashion industry in this thrilling, shocking and compelling tale.

A beloved American corporation with an explosive secret. A disgraced former journalist looking for redemption. A corporate executive with nothing left to lose.

In Dhaka, Bangladesh, a garment factory burns to the ground, claiming the lives of hundreds of workers, mostly young women. Amid the rubble a bystander captures a heart-stopping image - a teenage girl lying in the dirt, her body broken by a multi-tory fall, and over her mouth a mask of fabric bearing the label of one of America's largest retailers, Presto Omnishops Corporation. When the photo goes viral, it fans the flames of a decades-old controversy about sweatshops, labor rights, and the ethics of globalization.

A year later, in Washington, DC, Joshua Griswold, a disgraced former journalist for the Washington Post, receives an anonymous summons from a corporate whistleblower promising information about Presto. There, to Griswold's astonishment, he meets Cameron Alexander, Presto's longtime general counsel. Alexander, who has secrets of his own, offers Griswold confidential information about Presto's apparel supply chain. For Griswold the challenge of exposing Presto's willful negligence is irresistible, as is the chance, however slight, at redemption. Deploying his old journalistic skills, he builds a historic case against Presto, setting the stage for a war in the courtroom and in the media that Griswold is determined to win - both to salvage his reputation and to provoke a revolution of conscience in Presto's boardroom that could change the course of the fashion industry across the globe.

©2017 Regulus Books LLC (P)2017 Recorded Books

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Inspired by real events

This novel was inspired by real events - a horrific fire in an overseas clothing factory making clothes for western countries / suppliers. It starts with the fire itself which is gripping and emotional but then the story shifts to become a personal quest of Cameron - a manager at one of the clothing companies. Into the mix is added an eager journalist. This tactic allows the reader to see both sides and the horrible, yet believable reaction of a supplier (self preservation). It also offers insight into our world, the media and consumer behaviour - customers pay lip service to the tragedy whilst lining up to grab bargains. However for me, I found Cameron an unbelievable character and the story only fleetingly goes back to the factory workers' stories. More of a dual narrative really showing their lives, the hardship and impact of the fire would have been good. Also i think it missed making the point that solutions aren't as easy as a boycott of clothing manufactured outside western countries. The story makes you think but doesn't go quite far enough.

The narrator did an okay job but his pacing was too slow so I listened on 1.25 speed. He just sounded rather bored of the subject matter. Although a serious topic, more life /variation of tone was needed for this fiction book.

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