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smiley7245 's review for:
The Queen of Paris: A Novel of Coco Chanel
by Pamela Binnings Ewen
informative
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
My dislike for Coco is not factoring in to my rating of this book because 1) I did not realize I did not like her until I read this book and 2) my issue with the book is stylistic. It is well written, but the switching from third to first person and back was unappealing and frankly confusing as I was listening to the book. I am a fan of historical fiction and I like that the majority of the story was based in truth, that the fictional parts included some of the rumors surrounding Coco and that some of the dialogue had to be made made. But, the narration change was not working for me. My dislike for Coco will be covered by spoilers for anyone who, like me, was unaware. We start the book believing that Coco is a sympathetic character. I was ready to ride at dawn for this woman (and by that I mean go out and start buying No.5 whether or not I like how it smells) since she was being cheated out of her name, her company, and her perfume that she created all on her own. Then we get her backstory about being abandoned by her father after the death of her mother. Then we find out that she was a kept woman. All of this is interspersed with her time during the war, which she thought was fake. Even when she was living in a German occupied hotel she still thought it was fake. She saw a Jewish woman being drug away from her family and she didn't speak out. I understand the women who slept with the German soldiers to keep themselves safe; for many it was the only way they could stay alive. But not Coco. She did it because they were old friends and why not. She was quite possibly the most self centered person I have ever read about. Her being a Nazi spy, which based on this book appears to have been under duress to protect her nephew (who might have actually been her son), I can understand. But her refusing to see what was really happening, refusing to believe what was really happening. All because "what can I do?" was despicable. Getting her nephew/son out of the prison camp and to safety and then taking care of her maid after she was attacked just because she was her maid. The book ends with her having a meeting with her business partner, the one who owned 90% of the company and caused her so many problems, showing up with a a bank statement showing how much money she has made since he moved the company to America and them being friends again. We also find out that he was the one who got her out of France and to Switzerland, where she was staying at the end of the war. He was a good character, a good person, and deserved better than Coco. I realize this is historical fiction, but I learned a lot about Coco Chanel during this book and while some of it was sad, most of her troubles were of her own making and I cannot feel bad for her.