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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
I feel like war stories are getting a bit to many recently & it usually takes me a while to get into a book, but not with this one… this one had me gripped right away & it was a great book! I loved it.
I’ve enjoyed all of Lorna Cook’s books to date & so was awaiting the release of this one eagerly. And she’s done it again- a really enjoyable dual timeline (1940’s/present day) set predominantly in Paris during the Occupation. I do think that this author’s greatest skill is picking an angle that has rarely been covered. Given that this is a subject that’s been written about extensively, it’s really impressive to find a book concentrating on a little-known piece of its history.
I certainly knew nothing of Coco Chanel’s Nazi connections & found it fascinating to read about. The novel really picks up pace half way in and is well balanced with the modern day sections bringing us up to date. I particularly enjoyed how the ending neatly ties all the ends together without being cheesy or predictable (the main twist was so well disguised that none of our buddy read group saw it coming at all).
The only thing which lets the book down - sadly- is a number of spelling & grammatical mistakes. Such a shame as it does spoil the reading experience. But all in all a very enjoyable read.
ARC received in return for full & honest review.
I certainly knew nothing of Coco Chanel’s Nazi connections & found it fascinating to read about. The novel really picks up pace half way in and is well balanced with the modern day sections bringing us up to date. I particularly enjoyed how the ending neatly ties all the ends together without being cheesy or predictable (the main twist was so well disguised that none of our buddy read group saw it coming at all).
The only thing which lets the book down - sadly- is a number of spelling & grammatical mistakes. Such a shame as it does spoil the reading experience. But all in all a very enjoyable read.
ARC received in return for full & honest review.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a lovely, romantic but also serious historical fiction story about Adele, an orphan who finishes her convent education and moves to Paris where she lands a job as Coco Chanel's assistant. Their gadabout traveling life has been disrupted by the Nazi occupation of Paris. Chanel closes her fashion house, selling only her fragrances during wartime. They move into the Ritz, which has been taken over and occupied by Nazi officers. Cook tells this story from Adele's perspective, as she learns more about what the Nazis stand for, observes people being taken from their homes, never to be seen again, learns bits and pieces about the resistance and a lot about Chanel's political as well as romantic involvement with the Germans. Along the way, Adele meets and befriends an American doctor, seeks help from him when she takes an impulsive action that could cause her serious trouble, and she must confront her own roles, always on the periphery, in facilitating Chanel's problematic behavior as well as the doctor's dangerous resistance related behavior. The Dressmaker's Secret also is about Chloe, Adele's British granddaughter. It is 2018 and Chloe, recently divorced after a short lived, loveless marriage, moves to Paris for a year. She helps a friend from university run her boutique, as her friend just had a baby and needs help. Adele has shared with her grandchildren that she worked for Coco Chanel for five years, but never discussed the experience of living in Paris during the war. Chloe learns that evidence came out some years ago confirming longstanding rumors about Chanel: She collaborated with the Nazis. Was her grandmother complicit? As she visits places her grandmother lived and worked and researches the files on Chanel, Chloe needs to learn the truth. Adele is 97 and time is short. Lorna Cook is a wonderful writer. She tells Chanel's story during the period well and consistently with what I already knew about this. Adele, an imagined character is a sympathetic person, an employee, yet in some ways the person who knows more about Chanel than anyone. Her conflicting feelings about Chanel, about her own privilege in having food and a safe place to stay, about the doctor's extracurricular work and whether she should be doing more are compelling. A fast and enjoyable read.
fast-paced
Ahhhh why did I sleep on this for so long. Loved. Loved. Loved.
Interesting book. An entertaining read, but not necessarily a great book. I felt like there were a few problematic themes/storylines and despite describing some of the horrors of the war, it also romanticized a lot. I finished unsure how the author actually felt about Coco Channel’s collaboration which feels problematic in itself. I’d consider it entertainment fiction rather than historical fiction. Also the title makes no sense. Who is the dressmaker? Or what is her secret?
emotional
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this book. I found the perspective of someone working for Coco Chanel during the war years to be interesting but overall the story structure and plot twists to be similar to many others books I have read. An easy read that I don’t regret but also won’t necessarily recommend.