One
of the things that I love the most about reading historical fiction is visiting
places and times that I may never have to opportunity to otherwise experience. The Seamstress is one of those novels
that have the ability to transport you to another time and place. The story
takes place in north-eastern Brazil in the late 1920s and the early 1930s—a
time that was corrupt and harsh. There was no authoritative centralized
government—the power resided with the wealthy landowners, the Colonels, who
ruled their territory as they saw fit. The story takes place during a period of
political revolution where the government began to take the power away from the
Colonels; this did not just change the political climate but it also threw the
country into total chaos.
The
two sisters could not be more different. Emília has high aspirations for her
life; she dreams of romance, the latest fashions and leaving her simple country
life to become a Dona in the city of Recife. Luzia is the complete opposite of
her sister; she knows that the fantasy life that her sister dreams of is not
for her. Due to a childhood accident, Luzia’s left arm is permanently disabled.
She rebels against society and sees no future for herself until the Hawk and his
band of cangaciersos take her from her home.
☆☆☆☆
The Seamstress is
Frances de Pontes Peebles debut novel and the winner of Elle Magazine’s Fiction Grand Prix 2008. I have to say that I was
thoroughly impressed and want to read more from her! This is the first
historical novel that I have read featured in South America, and it didn’t hurt
that it took place in my favourite South American country (and one which I am dying
to visit!). The amount of research is phenomenal—clearly the author spent a lot
of time digging in Brazil’s history. Frances de Pontes Peebles created a page
turning story with memorable and life-like characters. The amount of detail is extraordinary,
from the scrublands to the houses, to the culture and lifestyle, to the characters
themselves.
The
novel itself flip-flops between the lives of the two sisters. The book has
extremely long chapters, each one focusing on one of the sisters’ lives.
Thankfully each chapter was broken down into sub-chapters providing the reader
with a place to pause in the story (and if you’re like me, you have to stop at
the end of a chapter) without having to read a full 100 pages to get to the end
of the chapter. One of the few problems that I had with this novel was the
prologue—I found that it gave away too much of the story before you really got
into it, I felt like I knew the basic plot before the story began. The book is
quite long however, my edition was 641 pages long, so by the time you get to
the end of the story you have forgotten the prologue. Another small issue that I
had with the novel was the language. While I like the fact that the author
chose to incorporate the Portuguese language in names, it wasn’t totally
consistent, for example the Hawk and Little Ear . . . I don’t think these are
Portuguese names. Finally, I found some of the political talk in the novel
tedious to get through and to be honest I skimmed some paragraphs when it came
to the political parts.
Overall
I really enjoyed this novel and I am excited to see what Frances de Pontes
Peebles comes up with next. Hopefully she stays in South America as I find that
this is an area that is looked over when it comes to historical fiction and I am
certain that there are many great stories hidden within its borders.
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