Reviewed by Emma Crowley
I need to tell you a story, ma chère. My story.
Rosa Kusstatscher has built a global fashion empire upon her ability to find the perfect outfit for any occasion. But tonight, as she prepares for the most important meeting of her life, her usual certainty eludes her.
What brought her to this moment? As she struggles to select her dress and choose the right shade of lipstick, Rosa begins to tell her incredible story. The story of a poor country girl from a village high in the mountains of Italy. Of Nazi occupation and fleeing in the night. Of hope and heartbreak in Switzerland; glamour and love in Paris. Of ambition and devastation in Rio de Janeiro; success and self-discovery in New York.
A life spent running, she sees now. But she will run no longer.
Many thanks to Hodder and Stoughton via NetGalley for my copy of The Dressmaker of Paris and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Dressmaker of Paris is the debut novel from Georgia Kaufmann following one woman’s story of loss, trauma and suffering as she navigates her world following a life changing incident. She is trying to come to terms with this and to reconcile with a decision she made which at the time she viewed as the being the best choice given her circumstances. Over the course of her life she struggles to find true independence that will make her comfortable in her own skin but the loss she bears is deep and the guilt eats away at her. How can we right a wrong which at the time was perceived as a right as said decision would hopefully benefit all involved? The woman was always looking to the future for security given the humble background she had come from but events in her late teens conspired against her and altered the course of her life.
When we are introduced to Rosa in New York in 1991 she is preparing for the most important meeting of her life and as she takes care in getting ready she recollects her story to somebody. We do not know who she is speaking to, nor who is she preparing to meet, but as she casts her mind back over her eventful life we come to understand how she reached the position she holds today. We are taken through a large time period and across many countries as her life and evolves, alters and develops. She has spent her life running but the time for that is finally over as she confronts the repercussions of the decision she made so long ago.
Rosa will never be able to fully love again until she is healed. She seeks this love in many places and at some points in the book, I thought she believed that she had found it but that deep burning love that one has for a certain somebody always truly evaded her. I think when she thought it had arrived at her door it was merely a façade on her part in some instances. She is constantly restless, never truly happy and confident in her own skin and that is all because of the choice she made that at the time she believed was the best as she had no other option. She can cover over her tracks and keep secrets and try and be successful in her professional and public life but the guilt she feels and the longing that is always there will never be quashed until she has gained acceptance and forgiveness from whom she seeks it the most.
Georgia Kaufmann excels in bringing the multitude of settings that feature in this book to life. We begin in the Alps in Northern Italy where Rosa lives in a hilltop village. Her family run the local gausthus. The families agonise over their identities. Are they German or Italian and even more so when the Germans arrive and take control of their village during the war. The author details life in the village and how danger, fear and wariness lurk at every corner. Rosa becomes taken with a Thomas Fischer and would like to pursue this but he is on the opposite side. The enemy. An horrific event in which her father is complicit, and her mother has no idea about sees Rosa leaving the village secretly aided by a true friend.
She arrives in Switzerland and is taken in by a professor. She knows this is only but a stop gap as her true talent for sewing and dressmaking emerges and a better life is needed to be made. Facing a cruel and life impacting choice in which there is no right or wrong decision she makes the ultimate sacrifice. One which given time, courage and determination will see things pay off. But is she willing to deal with the consequences of her actions? Will everyone else involved carefully slot in with her plan and ultimate vision? Or do others move on in her absence and therefore she is left haunted by her decision?
I loved the section of the story set in Paris as real historical figures were brought to life on the page. I thought we got a fascinating insight into dressmaking in Paris and how designers and couture started to come to life post war. Rosa was ambitious but wary at the same time but Dior sees beneath her and knows she has a bright future ahead of her even if those around her do not know the secrets she holds and why she is so driven and determined. A meeting at an event sees her fall in love with chemist Charles Dumarais and her life takes another unexpected turn. Here is where things got slightly heavy after they venture to Brazil because of Charles’ job. Some of the scenes were hard to read because I didn’t like the way her life was turning out. I couldn’t falter the love she felt for Charles. It was real and genuine but I thought she was going further and further away from the reason for her plan. Aspects of the story that took place in Brazil were sad but at the same time there was happiness to be found and friendships to be forges in the most unexpected of places.
Perhaps the Brazil section was dragged out too much and it was a relief to move to the next phase in New York. Although success was coming her way, a new stage to her plan felt forced and unnecessary although it did bring about a redemption of sorts towards the end. Rosa was a hit and miss character for me. I loved her when she was in Italy and Switzerland but she changed, of course she had to, in Brazil and New York. I didn’t respect her decisions and I thought she needed to lay the ghosts of the past to rest in order to move forward. They were always dragging her down as there were so many and she needed to confront them but as for the majority of this book she was always running and evading what needed to be truly met head on.
The Dressmaker of Paris was a really good book and a well accomplished and written debut. Given the title I thought all of the book would be set in Paris and to be honest I thought it would focus on the war years. Instead we are given an awful lot more and yes this is a sweeping story that you will get lost in as the reader is taken with Rosa on an incredible journey. One you would have not thought possible when we meet her during World War Two as she lives with her family in the mountainous region of Northern Italy. She goes through many quick transitions in her life, always pushing forward with a goal in mind and at times this goal has to be pushed aside as other forces take hold. I did enjoy this book but I wasn’t as swept away in it as I thought I would be, maybe because I felt certain parts of it were too long and at times it strayed away from the main crux of the Rosa’s story. Her reason for always being on the running and seeking affirmation, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Don’t get me wrong it is a good book and that stunning cover will draw you in because that’s certainly what made me want to read it but there was just a slight something missing in it for me. I can’t quite put my finger on it but that feeling of rapidly needing to turn the page and you don’t even notice you are doing so and then all of a sudden you reach the end was absent for me. At times, certain parts were a struggle just because I felt the story needed to be moved on instead of extended description or focus on where Rosa was at a time. Saying all that I would definitely recommend this book, Georgia Kaufmann is a writing talent to watch out for and I am intrigued to see in which direction she will next venture in in future books.
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