What is life like in the barracks as described in the novel, Torn Thread?

The barracks are described as cramped, dirty, and frequently cold; the factory and the train that takes them there everyday are hot, dusty, and noisy. There is never enough food, and the girls spend an incredible amount of time being thirsty and hungry and searching and bartering for food. The weather, whether it is hot or cold, snowing or raining, windy or calm, plays a large part in the lives of the inmates of Parschnitz, which contributes to the realism of the story but which also symbolizes the forces that buffet these characters without mercy.