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The Seamstress
As seamstresses, the young sisters Emília and Luzia dos Santos know how to cut, how to mend, and how to conceal. These are useful skills in the lawless backcountry of Brazil, where ruthless land barons called "colonels" feud with bands of outlaw cangaceiros, trapping innocent residents in the cross fire. Emília, whose knowledge of the world comes from fashion magazines and romance novels, dreams of falling in love with a gentleman and escaping to a big city. Luzia also longs to escape their little town, where residents view her with suspicion and pity. Scarred by a childhood accident that left her with a deformed arm, the quick-tempered Luzia finds her escape in sewing and in secret prayers to the saints she believes once saved her life. But when Luzia is abducted by a group of cangaceiros led by the infamous Hawk, the sisters' quiet lives diverge in ways they never imagined. Emília stumbles into marriage with Degas Coelho, the son of a doctor whose wealth is rivaled only by his political power. She moves to the sprawling seaside city of Recife, where the glamour of her new life is soon overshadowed by heartache and loneliness. Luzia, forced to trek through scrubland and endure a nomadic existence, proves her determination to survive and begins to see the cangaceiros as comrades, not criminals. In Recife, Emília must hide any connection to her increasingly notorious sister. As she learns to navigate the treacherous waters of Brazilian high society, Emília sees the country split apart after a bitter presidential election. Political feuds extend to the countryside, where Luzia and the Hawk are forced to make unexpected alliances and endure betrayals that threaten to break the cangaceiros apart. But Luzia will overcome time and distance to entrust her sister with a great secret—one Emília vows to keep. And when Luzia's life is threatened, Emília will risk everything to save her. An enthralling novel of love and courage, loyalty and adventure, that brings to life a faraway time and place, The Seamstress is impeccably drawn, rich in depth and vision, and heralds the arrival of a supremely talented new writer.
656 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 515 reviews
June 19, 2019
2.5 Stars
I had such high hopes for this detailed historical novel set in Brazil but sadly it was a little too fussy and quite repetitive. A tale that became bogged down in long descriptive passages and while I liked the story of Luzia and Emilia I felt the book at 646 pages would have been better condensed down to 450 and the story would have benefited by the editing. An ok read for me but certainly not one for me favourites shelf.
Emilia and Luzia dos Santos orphaned when young children and raised by their Seamstress Aunt in a hillside village in Brazil. Emilia dreams and hopes are of the romantic kind while Luzia deformed by a childhood accident know that she may take a different road in life. When Luzia is abducted by a gang of bandits the sister lives are changed forever.
The first 200 pages of this novel were quite a slog as I struggled to connect or feel the emotion of the story or the girls, I was interested in what happened to the sisters but this was more of my curiosity and determination not to abandon the novel purely because I had purchased a hard copy. The story does pick up and move along after the 500 page mark and does become quite interesting towards the end as the different storylines come together but unfortunately this felt too late for me and I grew a little tired of the novel and was glad to close the cover on this one. The sense of time and place is really well portrayed and I did enjoy learning about the history and culture of Brazil through the story and this for this alone the book was worth 2.5 stars for me.
This is one of those novels where I exclaim upon finishing TG I didn’t pack this one for the holidays !
I had such high hopes for this detailed historical novel set in Brazil but sadly it was a little too fussy and quite repetitive. A tale that became bogged down in long descriptive passages and while I liked the story of Luzia and Emilia I felt the book at 646 pages would have been better condensed down to 450 and the story would have benefited by the editing. An ok read for me but certainly not one for me favourites shelf.
Emilia and Luzia dos Santos orphaned when young children and raised by their Seamstress Aunt in a hillside village in Brazil. Emilia dreams and hopes are of the romantic kind while Luzia deformed by a childhood accident know that she may take a different road in life. When Luzia is abducted by a gang of bandits the sister lives are changed forever.
The first 200 pages of this novel were quite a slog as I struggled to connect or feel the emotion of the story or the girls, I was interested in what happened to the sisters but this was more of my curiosity and determination not to abandon the novel purely because I had purchased a hard copy. The story does pick up and move along after the 500 page mark and does become quite interesting towards the end as the different storylines come together but unfortunately this felt too late for me and I grew a little tired of the novel and was glad to close the cover on this one. The sense of time and place is really well portrayed and I did enjoy learning about the history and culture of Brazil through the story and this for this alone the book was worth 2.5 stars for me.
This is one of those novels where I exclaim upon finishing TG I didn’t pack this one for the holidays !
April 29, 2009
Extraordinarily vivid. I feel as though I've been away in Brazil for the past week!
No glowing prose, no melodrama, no big statements to make. Just the grand and beautiful telling of a story for its own sake. Emilia and Luzia are raised by their Aunt Sofia in rural northeastern Brazil in the 1920s. Their lives diverge in their late teens when Luzia is abducted by a notorious band of outlaws led by "The Hawk". Shortly thereafter, Emilia marries into high society and moves to the coastal city of Recife. As the years go by, the sisters keep track of each other in the newspapers. Emilia appears in the society pages, and Luzia in the headlines as a criminal now known as "The Seamstress". They cannot have direct contact because Emilia must protect the secret that this outlaw is her sister.
This book is long, but the exquisite detail is what makes it so outstanding. Descriptions of the people, land, clothing, food, folktales, superstitions, and traditions all just carried me away. The author calls it "a work of fiction inspired by historical events." So while it's not strictly historical fiction, her deep knowledge of her country's history shines through.
Fascinating, tragic, hopeful, and worth every page.
No glowing prose, no melodrama, no big statements to make. Just the grand and beautiful telling of a story for its own sake. Emilia and Luzia are raised by their Aunt Sofia in rural northeastern Brazil in the 1920s. Their lives diverge in their late teens when Luzia is abducted by a notorious band of outlaws led by "The Hawk". Shortly thereafter, Emilia marries into high society and moves to the coastal city of Recife. As the years go by, the sisters keep track of each other in the newspapers. Emilia appears in the society pages, and Luzia in the headlines as a criminal now known as "The Seamstress". They cannot have direct contact because Emilia must protect the secret that this outlaw is her sister.
This book is long, but the exquisite detail is what makes it so outstanding. Descriptions of the people, land, clothing, food, folktales, superstitions, and traditions all just carried me away. The author calls it "a work of fiction inspired by historical events." So while it's not strictly historical fiction, her deep knowledge of her country's history shines through.
Fascinating, tragic, hopeful, and worth every page.
September 22, 2009
This really was an unexpected pleasure. When I started reading, my mental picture of Brazil could not have been more different than what I found in this amazing story. Descriptions of the northern countryside, a hot, dry scrub land, contrast wonderfully with the lush humidity of the regional capital of Recife and parallel the storylines of two sisters separated by unusual circumstances. Both girls raised and trained as seamstresses by their widowed aunt, are eventually drawn in completely different directions. The younger sister Luzia’s story of extreme physical hardship and love within a band of roaming outlaws really captured my imagination. I was fascinated reading about a group of people living outdoors, completely at the mercy of the elements and the violent struggles that accompany that choice. Eliza’s life in the city becomes dominated by politics inside and outside her home.
I really enjoyed this work of historical fiction, learning more about Brazil during the 1920’s and 30’s. The characters were well drawn and threaded throughout the story are metaphors which connect Aunt Sofia’s sewing wisdom with lessons about life and human nature.
For me this book contained the perfect blend of landscapes, culture, relationships, family, politics and history.
I really enjoyed this work of historical fiction, learning more about Brazil during the 1920’s and 30’s. The characters were well drawn and threaded throughout the story are metaphors which connect Aunt Sofia’s sewing wisdom with lessons about life and human nature.
For me this book contained the perfect blend of landscapes, culture, relationships, family, politics and history.
March 25, 2015
Description: As seamstresses, the young sisters EmIlia and Luzia dos Santos know how to cut, mend, and conceal--useful skills in the lawless backcountry of Brazil, where ruthless land barons feud with bands of outlaw "cangaceiros," trapping innocent residents in the crossfire. EmIlia, a naive romantic, dreams of falling in love with a gentleman and escaping to a big city. Quick-tempered Luzia also longs for escape, finding it in her craft and secret prayers to the saints she believes once saved her life. But when Luzia is abducted by "cangaceiros" led by the infamous Hawk and EmIlia stumbles into a marriage with the son of a wealthy and politically powerful doctor, the sisters' quiet lives diverge in ways they never would have imagined.
Dedication:
Northeast Brazil (2) During the Old Republic.
Opening: Recife, Brazil, January 14, 1935: Emily awoke alone. She lay in the massive antique that had once been her mother-in-law's bridal bed, and was now her own.
Big fat juicy fiction where the reader feels the proximity and the time period.
Dedication:
To the women - living and dead -
of my family, all of them
ladies and guerreiras.
And to James, who always believed.
Northeast Brazil (2) During the Old Republic.Opening: Recife, Brazil, January 14, 1935: Emily awoke alone. She lay in the massive antique that had once been her mother-in-law's bridal bed, and was now her own.
Big fat juicy fiction where the reader feels the proximity and the time period.
October 1, 2014
This is a MUST read!!! This book is truly an unbelievable tale of two Brazilian sisters and the struggle for women to maintain a sense of self despite drought, revolution, economic hardship, and separation from loved ones in the 1930s. The author wove a tremendous amount of what Brazil was really like in the country and in the city throughout the book so you felt like you were really there. The character development of each of the characters was amazing; I felt like I really knew and had a relationship with each one. You will become intensely involved with this book and it will stay with you long after you finish the last page.
March 8, 2011
Definitely a 5-star book! This was a book of fictions that had the feel of real life. This book is the best of what can be done with the genre historical fiction. You take the facts and weave them into a story that makes them memorable and moving - a truly wonderful story! I loved every bit of this book. It was not too long, it never dragged and I learned a bit of Brazilian history.
27 pages left/ V-E-R-Y E-X-C-I-T-I-N-G
Through 550: Yes, the phrenology movement, the belif in cranium measurements, was real.
Through page 543: Oh I am getting terribly angry - not at the book but at the politics. Always politics is scewered. First there are wonderful goals and promises, and then individual pockets are lined and people seek personal gains. I find frightening the popular interest paid to the possibility of measuring an individual's cranium to distinguish inferior from superior superior human beings. This is Brazil, not Hitler's Germany. Was such reasoning making headway in Brazil too? I have to get more information. The story's plot is filled with suspense.
Through page 488: Two things - i am captivated by the detailed description of what happened during the drought of 1933. The plight of the refugees is horrendous. You learn about Brazilian history in a manner that is effortless. Secondly, the plot has the reader rapidly turning the pages. What will happen? So why is the book good? Well you learn alot. You care about the two sisters, and the plot keeps you on the edge of your chair.
Through page 412: I continue to like this book - A LOT! The two sisters seem so real, both of them. Like all women and men too, life gives you some gifts and witholds others. You are so lucky and yet there is always more or something that is impossible to grasp and which you so want. I like how the politics and the election of the president, the changing lives of the colonels and cangarceiros are intertwined in the characters's lives. Brazilian life and how it was changing and being modernized is all there. The Hawk and how he is changing is fascinating. The writing is fabulous, but to understand you have to quote huge sections, you have to know the people, you have to know what has happened and I don't like giving spoilers.
Through page 347:In the beginning this was just a very good story and I didn't feel I was learning much - well that has definitely changed. You learn about northern Brazilian nature, the dry parched lands that turn into a fantastic garden over night after rain. You learn lots about Brazilian social life in the cities, about the new class and the old class about the politics of Gomez and how the lands were run by varying colonels and the supporting/warring the cangraceiros. I find this interesting. The reader comes to care for both sisters, Emilia and Luzia - two very strong women who deal each with their own particular marital problems. Two strong women with heads on their shoulders who also have emotional wants and needs. I admire them both, each is special in her own way, although I do happen to feel more for Luzia! I do not think I could take the high life society of Recife. Reading about the Brazilian Carnaval festivities was also fun, but more fun to read about than to be there.
Through page 300: The author knows when the reader cannot stomach more. Now we have left Luzia and Hawk and the cangarceira to follow Emilia in Recife with her husband. Don't worry - no spoiler, this is all written about in the general book synopsis. The writing is fun, quirky and I love the description of the house and people. Mostly I love the servants, the people who really know the idiosyncracies of all the family members. So Emilia is taking her first bath in a Victorian white porcelain tub with lion's feet and conversing with her maid, who is scrubbing her back: Raimunda, her maid, says,
"You shouldn't ask me questions."
E replies: "Why not?"
R:"Because you shouldn't"
E:"But you asked me questions. "
R:"And if you had any sense you wouldn't have answered."
E:"I don't understand.....I thought you were being friendly."
R:"It is not my place to be friendly. And it's not yours to allow me to be......It is not my place to be giving advice. I am not your momma. But when you are surrounded by frogs, you'd better learn to jump."
I like Raimunda!
Through page 186: Oh and I forgot to mention the fire baloons and the momentos carried inside the bandits clothing, their signigicance!.
Now I have experienced what the cangarceira - true-life Brazilian "bandits" did din the late 1920s. Their behavior was often based on revenge and both physical and mentally tuned. Their actions were most revealing in how they they blended the physical and psychological. As always physical is often less devastating than the psychological undertones. Remember the author did not dream this up, it is based on fact. Very hard to stomachand very often followed by acts of understanding. The acts were followed by revenge and reprisals as is often seen in human behvior.
Through page 115: What to say - I love it! Thank you Lee. You picked just the right book for me. The writing is magical. I think, I have to quote something, but this doesn't work. I would have to quote paragraphs. You have to know who these people are to understand. I would have to explain and explain and explain, but if you read the book you understand perfectly what the author is saying. I adore the depiction of the different personalities. The two sisters are so different and both are so wonderful. The Hawk - I love him too. Sorry, I shouldn't, but I do! The sexual inuendos are perfect. And the book has just begun! This is pure enjoyment. I wouldn't say it is teaching me much, but you do learn about the political unrest and the cangarceira (bandits) that really did exist in Brazil in the 20s/30s and the landscape of norteastern Brazil. For once I do not care if it teaches me or not; I like it anyhow.
Through page 86: Delightful, engaging and the author is a wonderful story-teller. The style of writing is in the vein of magical realism. The writing somehow reminds me of Isabelle Allende's House of Spirits. The life of these people in a small town outside of Recife, Brazil during the 1930s is something very new to me, but I have not read much South American literature other than Allende's. Despite this, I have no trouble falling into their world. It is very rough and gritty, but at the same time it has a magical beauty. I have difficulty explaining the atmosphere conjured by the author. The relationship between the two sisters is poignantly evoked. Real sisters: playful bickering, each having diametrically different characters and yet both still caring for and needing the other. They understand each other as only sisters can.
Here goes Lee, I am so excited to be starting this! Yipee, it even has a map!
27 pages left/ V-E-R-Y E-X-C-I-T-I-N-G
Through 550: Yes, the phrenology movement, the belif in cranium measurements, was real.
Through page 543: Oh I am getting terribly angry - not at the book but at the politics. Always politics is scewered. First there are wonderful goals and promises, and then individual pockets are lined and people seek personal gains. I find frightening the popular interest paid to the possibility of measuring an individual's cranium to distinguish inferior from superior superior human beings. This is Brazil, not Hitler's Germany. Was such reasoning making headway in Brazil too? I have to get more information. The story's plot is filled with suspense.
Through page 488: Two things - i am captivated by the detailed description of what happened during the drought of 1933. The plight of the refugees is horrendous. You learn about Brazilian history in a manner that is effortless. Secondly, the plot has the reader rapidly turning the pages. What will happen? So why is the book good? Well you learn alot. You care about the two sisters, and the plot keeps you on the edge of your chair.
Through page 412: I continue to like this book - A LOT! The two sisters seem so real, both of them. Like all women and men too, life gives you some gifts and witholds others. You are so lucky and yet there is always more or something that is impossible to grasp and which you so want. I like how the politics and the election of the president, the changing lives of the colonels and cangarceiros are intertwined in the characters's lives. Brazilian life and how it was changing and being modernized is all there. The Hawk and how he is changing is fascinating. The writing is fabulous, but to understand you have to quote huge sections, you have to know the people, you have to know what has happened and I don't like giving spoilers.
Through page 347:In the beginning this was just a very good story and I didn't feel I was learning much - well that has definitely changed. You learn about northern Brazilian nature, the dry parched lands that turn into a fantastic garden over night after rain. You learn lots about Brazilian social life in the cities, about the new class and the old class about the politics of Gomez and how the lands were run by varying colonels and the supporting/warring the cangraceiros. I find this interesting. The reader comes to care for both sisters, Emilia and Luzia - two very strong women who deal each with their own particular marital problems. Two strong women with heads on their shoulders who also have emotional wants and needs. I admire them both, each is special in her own way, although I do happen to feel more for Luzia! I do not think I could take the high life society of Recife. Reading about the Brazilian Carnaval festivities was also fun, but more fun to read about than to be there.
Through page 300: The author knows when the reader cannot stomach more. Now we have left Luzia and Hawk and the cangarceira to follow Emilia in Recife with her husband. Don't worry - no spoiler, this is all written about in the general book synopsis. The writing is fun, quirky and I love the description of the house and people. Mostly I love the servants, the people who really know the idiosyncracies of all the family members. So Emilia is taking her first bath in a Victorian white porcelain tub with lion's feet and conversing with her maid, who is scrubbing her back: Raimunda, her maid, says,
"You shouldn't ask me questions."
E replies: "Why not?"
R:"Because you shouldn't"
E:"But you asked me questions. "
R:"And if you had any sense you wouldn't have answered."
E:"I don't understand.....I thought you were being friendly."
R:"It is not my place to be friendly. And it's not yours to allow me to be......It is not my place to be giving advice. I am not your momma. But when you are surrounded by frogs, you'd better learn to jump."
I like Raimunda!
Through page 186: Oh and I forgot to mention the fire baloons and the momentos carried inside the bandits clothing, their signigicance!.
Now I have experienced what the cangarceira - true-life Brazilian "bandits" did din the late 1920s. Their behavior was often based on revenge and both physical and mentally tuned. Their actions were most revealing in how they they blended the physical and psychological. As always physical is often less devastating than the psychological undertones. Remember the author did not dream this up, it is based on fact. Very hard to stomachand very often followed by acts of understanding. The acts were followed by revenge and reprisals as is often seen in human behvior.
Through page 115: What to say - I love it! Thank you Lee. You picked just the right book for me. The writing is magical. I think, I have to quote something, but this doesn't work. I would have to quote paragraphs. You have to know who these people are to understand. I would have to explain and explain and explain, but if you read the book you understand perfectly what the author is saying. I adore the depiction of the different personalities. The two sisters are so different and both are so wonderful. The Hawk - I love him too. Sorry, I shouldn't, but I do! The sexual inuendos are perfect. And the book has just begun! This is pure enjoyment. I wouldn't say it is teaching me much, but you do learn about the political unrest and the cangarceira (bandits) that really did exist in Brazil in the 20s/30s and the landscape of norteastern Brazil. For once I do not care if it teaches me or not; I like it anyhow.
Through page 86: Delightful, engaging and the author is a wonderful story-teller. The style of writing is in the vein of magical realism. The writing somehow reminds me of Isabelle Allende's House of Spirits. The life of these people in a small town outside of Recife, Brazil during the 1930s is something very new to me, but I have not read much South American literature other than Allende's. Despite this, I have no trouble falling into their world. It is very rough and gritty, but at the same time it has a magical beauty. I have difficulty explaining the atmosphere conjured by the author. The relationship between the two sisters is poignantly evoked. Real sisters: playful bickering, each having diametrically different characters and yet both still caring for and needing the other. They understand each other as only sisters can.
Here goes Lee, I am so excited to be starting this! Yipee, it even has a map!
January 12, 2019
Wow this is a great one. I had had this galley for years, finally read it and it was brilliant! A true family saga that is wonderful historical fiction.
This takes place in Brazil in the 1930's. Two orphaned sisters, Emilia and Lucrezia dos Santos know how to cut, mend and sew as they have lived with their aunt who was a seamstress. Romantic Emilia longs to escape from the confines of her little town. Scarred by an accident which left her arm deformed, Lucrezia is very tempermental and quiet and finds solace in her sewing.
Their lives divulge in the most unexpected way. Lucrezia is adbucted by bandits, to sew for their band and becomes a bandit herself. They are revolutionaries rebelling against the powerful Colonels and land barons who rule the lawless expanses of the backcountry.
Emilia meets and marries the son of a wealthy doctor. The excitement of city life is preempted whens she learns that her husband is gay and shows her no affection. She is lonely and heartsick and wants her sister back, though she knows this is probably impossible.
When Lucrezia's life is threatened she will end up risking everything to save her.
I loved this book! It brings to life a far away place and time which I knew nothing about. This book is one reason why I love historical fiction so much! It is beautifully written and narrated and I have continued to remember it through the years.
***One of my all time favorites. Highly recommend to lovers of historical fiction***
This takes place in Brazil in the 1930's. Two orphaned sisters, Emilia and Lucrezia dos Santos know how to cut, mend and sew as they have lived with their aunt who was a seamstress. Romantic Emilia longs to escape from the confines of her little town. Scarred by an accident which left her arm deformed, Lucrezia is very tempermental and quiet and finds solace in her sewing.
Their lives divulge in the most unexpected way. Lucrezia is adbucted by bandits, to sew for their band and becomes a bandit herself. They are revolutionaries rebelling against the powerful Colonels and land barons who rule the lawless expanses of the backcountry.
Emilia meets and marries the son of a wealthy doctor. The excitement of city life is preempted whens she learns that her husband is gay and shows her no affection. She is lonely and heartsick and wants her sister back, though she knows this is probably impossible.
When Lucrezia's life is threatened she will end up risking everything to save her.
I loved this book! It brings to life a far away place and time which I knew nothing about. This book is one reason why I love historical fiction so much! It is beautifully written and narrated and I have continued to remember it through the years.
***One of my all time favorites. Highly recommend to lovers of historical fiction***
October 23, 2018
Set in Brazil in the 1920s and 1930s, the Seamstress is an extraordinary historical fiction. Although this is her first novel, the author writes as an experienced storyteller and she has done a very thorough historical research.
Luzia and Emília grew up in a small town in the inlands with their aunt Sofia. They are both trained to be seamstresses, looking for a way out. The story is told from their alternating viewpoints, so that we can experience both their journeys. Although they have different dreams and goals, Luzia and Emília never froget eachother, and ultimately, they lean on the memories of their sister and the wisdom of their aunt Sofia.
The rapid technological, social, and political change affected both of Luzia and Emília, albeit in different ways. The country, its people, the time, and the political situation and suffragette novement is very well described. I loved how we got to know the mindset, the fashion, and even the climate of Brazil.
The only downside of this novel is that it felt something dragged, and after a while it seemed I was reading the same things over and over. This might not be a problem for others, and I certainly wouldn’t discourage anyone because of this from reading about The Seamstress.
Luzia and Emília grew up in a small town in the inlands with their aunt Sofia. They are both trained to be seamstresses, looking for a way out. The story is told from their alternating viewpoints, so that we can experience both their journeys. Although they have different dreams and goals, Luzia and Emília never froget eachother, and ultimately, they lean on the memories of their sister and the wisdom of their aunt Sofia.
The rapid technological, social, and political change affected both of Luzia and Emília, albeit in different ways. The country, its people, the time, and the political situation and suffragette novement is very well described. I loved how we got to know the mindset, the fashion, and even the climate of Brazil.
The only downside of this novel is that it felt something dragged, and after a while it seemed I was reading the same things over and over. This might not be a problem for others, and I certainly wouldn’t discourage anyone because of this from reading about The Seamstress.
September 18, 2011
Well-written if overly long, tending toward a slight bloat of historical fact. Though the story is interesting even compelling, it's also dark, tragic, and contains a lot of gruesome, brutal violence.
The writing and the compelling story-telling warrant more than one star but in all honesty I truly did not like this book. Not recommended unless you have a particular interest in bleak Brazilian history and a highly-developed acceptance for overt brutality in the books you read.
I'm a little surprised at all the gushing reviews and wonder if we're losing our collective sensitivity and developing a numbness toward and an appetite for ever-increasing violence. It's disturbing to see the word lovely used as a descriptive for this book, but then everyone's entitled to their opinion.
The writing and the compelling story-telling warrant more than one star but in all honesty I truly did not like this book. Not recommended unless you have a particular interest in bleak Brazilian history and a highly-developed acceptance for overt brutality in the books you read.
I'm a little surprised at all the gushing reviews and wonder if we're losing our collective sensitivity and developing a numbness toward and an appetite for ever-increasing violence. It's disturbing to see the word lovely used as a descriptive for this book, but then everyone's entitled to their opinion.
July 22, 2016
This was an enjoyable Historical Fiction read. It was set in Brazil which provided new information about a culture, a people, and a place that I'm not familiar with. This was about 2 sisters and their different journeys. I loved how they were depicted. They were so different but forever linked. The author did a remarkable job with character development. The writing was also quite beautiful.
Another thing I liked was how the story moved along. There was always something new to glean or something new happening. Everything seemed well paced. I read some of the other reviews and it looks like the biggest complaint was that it was too long. I disagree with that. Not once did I do page math. It just never felt long to me.
Another thing I liked was how the story moved along. There was always something new to glean or something new happening. Everything seemed well paced. I read some of the other reviews and it looks like the biggest complaint was that it was too long. I disagree with that. Not once did I do page math. It just never felt long to me.
August 3, 2020
רומן היסטורי המתרחש בצפון ברזיל בשנות ה-20 וה-30 של המאה העשרים, ומספר את סיפורן של 2 אחיות - אמיליה ולוזיה, שגדלו עם דודתם, שלימדה אותן להיות תופרות. לוזיה, נכה אבל חזקה ודעתנית, נחטפת על ידי כנופיה ונאלצת לשרוד בתנאים לא פשוטים. אמיליה, אלגנטית ומוצלחת, כמהה לצאת מהעוני ולחיות חיים עירוניים, ומתחתנת בנישואים נטולי אהבה, וגם היא צריכה לשרוד בחברה שאינה מכירה. במקביל לתיאור של חייהן, לסירוגין, מתואר האקלים הפוליטי והתרבותי בברזיל, והשינויים הרבים שעבר בתקופה הזו. למרות שאחרי חטיפתה של לוזיה האחיות לא נפגשות, חייהן מצטלבים בצורה כלשהי כל הזמן.
ספר נחמד שכתוב יפה. הזכיר לי את "אשת הסנדלר" . אהבתי מאוד את החלקים על לוזיה, שהיו סוחפים ומרגשים יותר מהחלקים על אמיליה. הספר ארוך מאוד (כמעט 700 עמודים), ולמרות זאת בסופו הרגשתי שהוא לא ממצה מספיק, ושלא למדתי מספיק על התקופה. לכן הורדתי לו כוכב.
ספר נחמד שכתוב יפה. הזכיר לי את "אשת הסנדלר" . אהבתי מאוד את החלקים על לוזיה, שהיו סוחפים ומרגשים יותר מהחלקים על אמיליה. הספר ארוך מאוד (כמעט 700 עמודים), ולמרות זאת בסופו הרגשתי שהוא לא ממצה מספיק, ושלא למדתי מספיק על התקופה. לכן הורדתי לו כוכב.
April 6, 2011
I have a hard time writing five star reviews; it can be hard to avoid gushing and to say something that hasn't already been said. But this book deserves the effort, so here goes.
As others have recounted, The Seamstress is about the lives of two Brazilian sisters in the early twentieth century. They're raised together in the highlands of the state of Pernambuco, but early in the book each departs on her separate journey: the younger sister, Luzia, is taken by a group of bandits that happens through the town, leaving the older, Emilia, alone and forced to make a hasty marriage in order to fulfill her dream of living in the city. Chapters alternate between the two for the rest of the book. I found them equally interesting, and they provide an excellent contrast: Emilia lives in the city, and observes its progress and the making of history firsthand, while Luzia remains in the countryside, acquainting readers with its harsh landscape and traditional lifestyle. The thematic implications here are obvious, and the settings are beautifully drawn. I know some reviewers have complained that the book is too long, but the plot is only part of it: without the little character-illuminating moments and the descriptions so vivid I felt as if I was there, this book wouldn't be nearly as good as it is.
The development of the main characters was excellent. I had sympathy for both of the sisters from the very beginning, and found them interesting throughout despite their making some rather difficult decisions. Luzia's development in particular was fascinating: I could tell early on that her story was not going to be romanticized as the girl-kidnapped-by-outlaws usually is, but was still surprised at the (inevitable, in retrospect) direction that it took. Emilia seems to be the more difficult character to like for many readers: she's more conventional, struggling against the traditional roles of women in high society, even while she loves fashion and dressmaking. In some places the author uses major political events and drama to liven up her chapters. But ultimately (and perhaps surprisingly given her character at the beginning of the book) I found her the more admirable of the two.
The flip side is that, while the most important supporting characters in each narrative are also well-developed, the more secondary and minor characters seemed a bit flat, including those who shouldn't have been given the amount of page time they received (Lindalva, Ponta Fina). Still, I loved the nuances of the relationships between the characters. And while writing style, as long as it's competent, is not my first priority in choosing what to read, I can say that the prose quality here is excellent.
The only thing I didn't much like about this book is its divergence from history: for instance, it seems fairly obvious that Celestino Gomes is meant to represent Getulio Vargas, but why change the names at all? It reminded me of Isabel Allende's work in that respect (and a comparison to Allende is a huge compliment, even if refusing to include the real names of historical figures does annoy me in both cases). Also, there's no excuse for not including a glossary at the end of the book; Portuguese words pepper the text, and while most can be understood from context, it's standard practice to include translations and pronounciation help for readers unfamiliar with the language.
Ultimately, I both fully enjoyed and was impressed by this book--an excellent combination. I recommend it to aficionados of both historical and literary fiction.
As others have recounted, The Seamstress is about the lives of two Brazilian sisters in the early twentieth century. They're raised together in the highlands of the state of Pernambuco, but early in the book each departs on her separate journey: the younger sister, Luzia, is taken by a group of bandits that happens through the town, leaving the older, Emilia, alone and forced to make a hasty marriage in order to fulfill her dream of living in the city. Chapters alternate between the two for the rest of the book. I found them equally interesting, and they provide an excellent contrast: Emilia lives in the city, and observes its progress and the making of history firsthand, while Luzia remains in the countryside, acquainting readers with its harsh landscape and traditional lifestyle. The thematic implications here are obvious, and the settings are beautifully drawn. I know some reviewers have complained that the book is too long, but the plot is only part of it: without the little character-illuminating moments and the descriptions so vivid I felt as if I was there, this book wouldn't be nearly as good as it is.
The development of the main characters was excellent. I had sympathy for both of the sisters from the very beginning, and found them interesting throughout despite their making some rather difficult decisions. Luzia's development in particular was fascinating: I could tell early on that her story was not going to be romanticized as the girl-kidnapped-by-outlaws usually is, but was still surprised at the (inevitable, in retrospect) direction that it took. Emilia seems to be the more difficult character to like for many readers: she's more conventional, struggling against the traditional roles of women in high society, even while she loves fashion and dressmaking. In some places the author uses major political events and drama to liven up her chapters. But ultimately (and perhaps surprisingly given her character at the beginning of the book) I found her the more admirable of the two.
The flip side is that, while the most important supporting characters in each narrative are also well-developed, the more secondary and minor characters seemed a bit flat, including those who shouldn't have been given the amount of page time they received (Lindalva, Ponta Fina). Still, I loved the nuances of the relationships between the characters. And while writing style, as long as it's competent, is not my first priority in choosing what to read, I can say that the prose quality here is excellent.
The only thing I didn't much like about this book is its divergence from history: for instance, it seems fairly obvious that Celestino Gomes is meant to represent Getulio Vargas, but why change the names at all? It reminded me of Isabel Allende's work in that respect (and a comparison to Allende is a huge compliment, even if refusing to include the real names of historical figures does annoy me in both cases). Also, there's no excuse for not including a glossary at the end of the book; Portuguese words pepper the text, and while most can be understood from context, it's standard practice to include translations and pronounciation help for readers unfamiliar with the language.
Ultimately, I both fully enjoyed and was impressed by this book--an excellent combination. I recommend it to aficionados of both historical and literary fiction.
September 12, 2008
I really cannot rave enough about this book. I loved it. LOVED it. It reminded me a bit of One Hundred Years of Solitude, except that I read that book so long ago that you should cut me some slack if the two aren't similar at all. Which, now that I think of it, they really aren't, because The Seamstress isn't a multi-generational story like that one. So never mind.
I don't want to write too much about the story itself because part of what I loved about it is the way it reveals itself slowly, and I don't want to ruin that experience for you. But, I will say that it is about two orphaned sisters who grow up in the poor backcountry of Brazil in the 1920's and are trained as seamstresses by their aunt. When they are grown, they each take dramatically different paths towards dramatically different lives - one "civilized", one "wild". The book is written so descriptively that it felt like I was THERE - like I was living each moment with the characters. (One reader on Goodreads described the author as "a south of the equator Wallace Stegner", and I so agree!)
In short, it's a phenomenal read.
I don't want to write too much about the story itself because part of what I loved about it is the way it reveals itself slowly, and I don't want to ruin that experience for you. But, I will say that it is about two orphaned sisters who grow up in the poor backcountry of Brazil in the 1920's and are trained as seamstresses by their aunt. When they are grown, they each take dramatically different paths towards dramatically different lives - one "civilized", one "wild". The book is written so descriptively that it felt like I was THERE - like I was living each moment with the characters. (One reader on Goodreads described the author as "a south of the equator Wallace Stegner", and I so agree!)
In short, it's a phenomenal read.
September 25, 2009
Based in Brazil, during political unrest, two sisters, Luzia and Emilia, take different paths in life, but remain connected and close even though they live their adult lives physically apart. The sisters are taught to sew at an early age by a loving Aunt Sophia. As talented seamstresses, the author masterfully sews their craft into the story line, to describe details of their lives, in the way they think, and even as a secret way for the two to communicate. Their craft will help them through out their lives and has "stitched" them together forever despite their differences. Similarities bring them together, differences pull them apart, but always they are one.
As a reader, I contemplate the way a life can change just by one simple accident. How a personality is changed for life because that person is treated differently, with no human redemption, which results in a destiny of pain and self destruction.
As a reader, I contemplate the way a life can change just by one simple accident. How a personality is changed for life because that person is treated differently, with no human redemption, which results in a destiny of pain and self destruction.
June 14, 2012
History, war, romance, sisterhood, poverty, wealth, transformation=a perfect book!
November 20, 2008
This book was fabulous, it had everything- dynamic characters, interesting setting, wonderful descriptions, terrific plot, compelling themes, and symbolism throughout.
Set in late 1920's to mid 1930's in Brazil during the Green Party revolution, two sisters', both talented seamstresses from a small mountain village, lives change dramatically. Emilia has big dreams to leave her country life for the city, to have a kitchen with tiled floors, a romantic husband, and to wear fashionable clothes. Luiza, whose arm is bent and crippled by an accident, is more realistic. She knows because of her arm, she will never be sought for marriage. She simply wants to be known as something other than the cruel town nickname, Victrola (those phonograph machines with a bent horn). Ordinarily these woman would have stayed where they are, in the simple county town with no prospects but fate stepped in.
The Hawk, the Cangaceiros leader, saw Luiza and something compelled him to want her in his group. Luiza went willingly. She wanted to leave Victrola behind. The cangaceiros roamed the Brazil scrublands and were protectors and providers to some but could also exact punishment on those who betrayed them or dishonored them. Over time, Luiza became, not only The Hawk's wife, but she became known as "the Seamstress", she was respected by the cangaceiros gang, revered by some people but also feared, and she became the best sharp shooter of the group.
Emilia met Degas, a doctor's son visiting her town's colonel's son, Felipe. Both need each other for their own reasons and they marry. Degas takes Emilia to Recife to his family's home. Degas' mom Dona Dulce treats her like crap, the maids treat her like crap, and Society makes fun of her country background. She has the tiled floor, clothes, and a husband but her marriage is in name and appearance only. She has no respect. She does, however, make a great friend, Lindavla and they open an exclusive dress shop filled with Emilia's fasions.
Both sisters are worlds apart but through the newspaper Emilia reads about "The Seamstress" and Luiza reads and sees pictures of Emilia. Both still share a bond and Emilia tries to help Luiza with hidden messages.
Both sisters are trapped like caged birds. Luiza was first trapped as Victrola and she saw the cangerceiro group as a means to escape this cage. Only she became trapped as the Seamstress. Violence bread more violence and she lost control. Emilia was trapped first in the country but then by High Society's and her family's expectations. She wanted to help Luiza, but how can she help her without falling herself?
Set in late 1920's to mid 1930's in Brazil during the Green Party revolution, two sisters', both talented seamstresses from a small mountain village, lives change dramatically. Emilia has big dreams to leave her country life for the city, to have a kitchen with tiled floors, a romantic husband, and to wear fashionable clothes. Luiza, whose arm is bent and crippled by an accident, is more realistic. She knows because of her arm, she will never be sought for marriage. She simply wants to be known as something other than the cruel town nickname, Victrola (those phonograph machines with a bent horn). Ordinarily these woman would have stayed where they are, in the simple county town with no prospects but fate stepped in.
The Hawk, the Cangaceiros leader, saw Luiza and something compelled him to want her in his group. Luiza went willingly. She wanted to leave Victrola behind. The cangaceiros roamed the Brazil scrublands and were protectors and providers to some but could also exact punishment on those who betrayed them or dishonored them. Over time, Luiza became, not only The Hawk's wife, but she became known as "the Seamstress", she was respected by the cangaceiros gang, revered by some people but also feared, and she became the best sharp shooter of the group.
Emilia met Degas, a doctor's son visiting her town's colonel's son, Felipe. Both need each other for their own reasons and they marry. Degas takes Emilia to Recife to his family's home. Degas' mom Dona Dulce treats her like crap, the maids treat her like crap, and Society makes fun of her country background. She has the tiled floor, clothes, and a husband but her marriage is in name and appearance only. She has no respect. She does, however, make a great friend, Lindavla and they open an exclusive dress shop filled with Emilia's fasions.
Both sisters are worlds apart but through the newspaper Emilia reads about "The Seamstress" and Luiza reads and sees pictures of Emilia. Both still share a bond and Emilia tries to help Luiza with hidden messages.
Both sisters are trapped like caged birds. Luiza was first trapped as Victrola and she saw the cangerceiro group as a means to escape this cage. Only she became trapped as the Seamstress. Violence bread more violence and she lost control. Emilia was trapped first in the country but then by High Society's and her family's expectations. She wanted to help Luiza, but how can she help her without falling herself?
January 4, 2009
I really did enjoy this book...wasn't convinced when I started it, though once I got ging...it was an engaging, enthroalling book 2 sisters in Brazil in the 30s. Definitely a page turner and one I read late into the night. I wasn't sure about the ending, but the more I thought about it...decided it was probably perfect.
May 15, 2018
This was much better than the average historical fiction and warranted its 646 pages. If you follow my reviews at all you will know I usually think a book is too long. Why in this case do I think the author had every right to take up over 600 pages and a few weeks of my time? Because she covered those pages with a slow-paced but not over-written story that actually developed with complexity and needed that long to simmer. There wasn't any needless emotion, or any description surplus to requirement. There was usually a calm no-nonsense tone although the happenings were gruesome and at times brutal and I certainly did not enjoy that. I think there was some truth in the way the novel's world was portrayed.
A nit I would like to pick here is the author's apparent view of human nature (which is the post-modern/neoliberal one where humans are basically atomistic self-interested beings with "virtue" being a romantic illusion). As such both Luzia and Emilia were unable to form attachments with anyone in the first 620 pages of the book (after that there is just a change of scene and pace to give us a necessary happy ending) and even their own connection seems tenuous and hard to understand (they have blood in common, what else do they have?)
This means there is nothing they could have done better (no fatal "flaw", no mistake) apart from not be born poor. If either was more "normal" and less individualistic they would have lived the village life and suffered and probably died in the drought. Because of the way they craved something "different" (strangely both craved this and failed to understand it in each other) one ends up being a sort of Brazilian female Robin Hood (without any of the romance) and the other ends up a society matron and successful entrepreneur(ess). I found it interesting how class, gender and disability kept limiting them and made progress hard. I found it interesting how the idea that a gay man would automatically be an ally to a woman trapped in patriarchal unfairness was quickly shown to be not necessarily the case. I found it troubling that Luzia's very hard life and everything that happened to her was portrayed as "choice", always ultimately "choice" which dilutes the otherwise tragic tone of the story (which was one of the best things about it) and also ignores the face that any other choice she could have made would have made her more simply a victim, but would not have been better. I felt there was a modern day (and anachronistic) bias in this reifying of "choice" and in the way characters in the book were so self-interested and soulless (even Lindalva who was the closest thing to a "friend" to either of them).
I both liked and did not like the cynicism of the book, I needed it to be somewhat tempered.
In any case the historical detail while at times bleak rang convincingly. I don't like thinking about or reading about starvation but it has after all often happened to many people. I didn't like everything about the ending, but it was how these things tend to end and it is hard to imagine anything different. I liked having a story that centred so unapologetically on women and backgrounded even their husbands.
Worth a read if you like historical fiction, but I do like my Robin Hood stories a little more positive and encouraging ;)
A nit I would like to pick here is the author's apparent view of human nature (which is the post-modern/neoliberal one where humans are basically atomistic self-interested beings with "virtue" being a romantic illusion). As such both Luzia and Emilia were unable to form attachments with anyone in the first 620 pages of the book (after that there is just a change of scene and pace to give us a necessary happy ending) and even their own connection seems tenuous and hard to understand (they have blood in common, what else do they have?)
This means there is nothing they could have done better (no fatal "flaw", no mistake) apart from not be born poor. If either was more "normal" and less individualistic they would have lived the village life and suffered and probably died in the drought. Because of the way they craved something "different" (strangely both craved this and failed to understand it in each other) one ends up being a sort of Brazilian female Robin Hood (without any of the romance) and the other ends up a society matron and successful entrepreneur(ess). I found it interesting how class, gender and disability kept limiting them and made progress hard. I found it interesting how the idea that a gay man would automatically be an ally to a woman trapped in patriarchal unfairness was quickly shown to be not necessarily the case. I found it troubling that Luzia's very hard life and everything that happened to her was portrayed as "choice", always ultimately "choice" which dilutes the otherwise tragic tone of the story (which was one of the best things about it) and also ignores the face that any other choice she could have made would have made her more simply a victim, but would not have been better. I felt there was a modern day (and anachronistic) bias in this reifying of "choice" and in the way characters in the book were so self-interested and soulless (even Lindalva who was the closest thing to a "friend" to either of them).
I both liked and did not like the cynicism of the book, I needed it to be somewhat tempered.
In any case the historical detail while at times bleak rang convincingly. I don't like thinking about or reading about starvation but it has after all often happened to many people. I didn't like everything about the ending, but it was how these things tend to end and it is hard to imagine anything different. I liked having a story that centred so unapologetically on women and backgrounded even their husbands.
Worth a read if you like historical fiction, but I do like my Robin Hood stories a little more positive and encouraging ;)
May 30, 2021
Frances De Pontes Peebles once again does a fabulous job, portraying the story of two sisters whose lives take completely different paths after their countryside home is raid by a group of poor peasants who inhabited the northeastern desert of Brazil. The sisters were bonded by their friendship, family blood and their ability to sew. Based on historical facts that afflicted Brazil at the end of 1920s, beginning of 1930s, De Pontes Peebles weave an impressive story about survival, resilience and the questions behind what makes someone leans towards good and evil. The choices made by the two sisters determine their present and future, and although the outcome would most likely be different if they have opted to take a different road, at the end, both stand up and embrace their journey and the consequences. Inspired by the life of real outlaws Lampiao and Maria Bonita, the story is rich in details: the drought that affected and killed thousands in the northeast of Brazil, the politics involving right and left parties before World War II, the rise of suffragist movements, the emergence high society in the “big cities" craving to civilize the nation in the name of progressivism, health, science, and public order.
The elite forces promulgated a political culture based on a medical model that defined social problems such as poverty, vagrancy, crime, street violence and homossexuality as illnesses to be studied exclusively on a biological basis. They would measure the bodies of people deemed "socially undesirable", as an attempt to profile those individuals, "treat" or eliminate them to raise a society considered civilized.
I gave it 4 stars just because I thought some parts -in the middle were little bit lengthy , repetitive and slow.
The elite forces promulgated a political culture based on a medical model that defined social problems such as poverty, vagrancy, crime, street violence and homossexuality as illnesses to be studied exclusively on a biological basis. They would measure the bodies of people deemed "socially undesirable", as an attempt to profile those individuals, "treat" or eliminate them to raise a society considered civilized.
I gave it 4 stars just because I thought some parts -in the middle were little bit lengthy , repetitive and slow.
December 6, 2019
I love, love this kind of lusciously written historical fiction. This is an exquisitely detailed story about love, loyalty, and sisterhood set in Brazil during a very turbulent time. The story is told in alternating chapters from the two sisters', Emília and Luzia, point of view. Their lives take very different turns but deep down they stay intertwined and I loved it. I also loved the role sewing played in this story. They were both seamstresses by profession but it had very different meaning for them both.
As much as I love multiple storylines in books, it's unfortunate if all the storylines are not equally interesting and, sadly, most of this book I was much more invested in Luzia's story than Emília's. Whenever I was in Emília's chapter, I kept checking how many pages I had left until Luzia's chapter. Luckily, about halfway through the book I finally started to connect with Emília's story and now that I'm finished with it, I can definitely appreciate what the author did with the story as a whole. However, I'd probably would like to rate this 4.5 stars just because it took me so long to get interested in Emília's side of the story. Still this was nothing short of sublime.
I'll definitely want to keep my eye on this author's work in the future.
As much as I love multiple storylines in books, it's unfortunate if all the storylines are not equally interesting and, sadly, most of this book I was much more invested in Luzia's story than Emília's. Whenever I was in Emília's chapter, I kept checking how many pages I had left until Luzia's chapter. Luckily, about halfway through the book I finally started to connect with Emília's story and now that I'm finished with it, I can definitely appreciate what the author did with the story as a whole. However, I'd probably would like to rate this 4.5 stars just because it took me so long to get interested in Emília's side of the story. Still this was nothing short of sublime.
I'll definitely want to keep my eye on this author's work in the future.
March 17, 2021
The Seamstress is not a fast read at all but it is worth reading, a beautiful, atmospheric look at the lives of two sisters whose paths dramatically diverge in 1920s and 30s Brazil. This one goes to dark places and shows human cruelty especially in the second half, but it also shows how futile it can be in retrospect. The magic of this tale is in the author’s decriptions of the scrublands of Northeastern Brazil, a mysterious part of the world most of us have never experienced firsthand. Peebles will take you there. Think Isabel Allende’s House of the Spirits meets Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing meets Bonnie snd Clyde.
April 5, 2012
I nearly didn't read this. Got it out of the library, then thought the cover suggested it might be just sloppy romance.
But it isn't, and I'm glad I read it.
It's the first book I've read (a sad admission) about the cangaceiros of Brasil. It covers the early part of the C20th when the countryside was still run by the Colonels - but landowners who operated rather like medieval barons.
It is indeed romance - but a great deal more than that. The cangaceiros are folk heroes who (depending on what you believe) rob the rich to feed the poor - or more likely rob everybody regardless.
The three main characters are two sisters who are separated: one enters a loveless marriage and lives in what passes for high society in Recife, capital of Pernanbuco state. The other is carried off by a leading cangaceiro, based, I think, on Lampiao, the most famous of the outlaws. He looks curiously intellectual.
The author is a descendant of one of the leading Brasilian families (as far as I can gather). I think she has done an outstanding job - one measure being that I wanted to know more about Recife and the cangaceiros.
Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cangaco. If you any curiosity at all you will be fascinated. If you have none, I suggest you lock yourself in a room somewhere and wait till you die.
It is years since I was last in Brasil; we should have gone there at the start of this year to sere my former PA and her family whom we love - but the trip was postponed. This strengthened my determination to make it soon.
I think when a book makes you want to do something, that's good a measure of its quality.
But it isn't, and I'm glad I read it.
It's the first book I've read (a sad admission) about the cangaceiros of Brasil. It covers the early part of the C20th when the countryside was still run by the Colonels - but landowners who operated rather like medieval barons.
It is indeed romance - but a great deal more than that. The cangaceiros are folk heroes who (depending on what you believe) rob the rich to feed the poor - or more likely rob everybody regardless.
The three main characters are two sisters who are separated: one enters a loveless marriage and lives in what passes for high society in Recife, capital of Pernanbuco state. The other is carried off by a leading cangaceiro, based, I think, on Lampiao, the most famous of the outlaws. He looks curiously intellectual.
The author is a descendant of one of the leading Brasilian families (as far as I can gather). I think she has done an outstanding job - one measure being that I wanted to know more about Recife and the cangaceiros.
Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cangaco. If you any curiosity at all you will be fascinated. If you have none, I suggest you lock yourself in a room somewhere and wait till you die.
It is years since I was last in Brasil; we should have gone there at the start of this year to sere my former PA and her family whom we love - but the trip was postponed. This strengthened my determination to make it soon.
I think when a book makes you want to do something, that's good a measure of its quality.
November 19, 2009
This book was a bit of an odd duck for me. I was truly impressed by the knowledge of the history and culture of 1920's/1930's era Brazil that the author presented, but I found it difficult to really connect with the characters. I wasn't especially fond of Emilia or Luzia and I think part of that was from the split perspective nature of the book, wherein it switched from Luzia to Emilia and back again. I felt as though every time I was just warming up to one of them, the book split and went to the other and by the time I returned to the first I had also returned to a state of not caring. So in the end it didn't really matter what happened to them in my mind. I was also a bit frustrated we didn't get to learn more about some of the secondary characters like Antonio and Degas. However, ultimately, the biggest problem I had with this book was the there was really almost no action after Luzia's "life change" (to keep it spoiler free) in the early first quarter of the book. I kept on going, hoping something would happen to hold my interest or endear the characters to me but I just never got there.
2 stars just for the sheer volume of cultural and historical knowledge.
2 stars just for the sheer volume of cultural and historical knowledge.
July 19, 2017
Frances de Pontes Peebles created a rich and lively atmosphere in "The Seamstress". This tale has a great sense of place and while reading it I felt like I really was carried away to a long past period in Brazil. I could see, feel, and smell everything as if it were right in front of me. The subject of cangaceiros was fascinating as I'd never heard of them before. Apparently "The Seamstres" is one of many adaptations of the story of the real-life cangaceiros Lampiao and Maria Bonita. The contrasting realities of the two sisters are brilliantly told. I cried at the end, of course. I hope to see more from this author.
October 4, 2008
I am really quite torn about this book.
On one hand, it starts so so well, with beautiful Isabel Allende-esque prose.
On the other, it eventually reads like a history book and ultimately ends up being two hundred pages too long and repetitive.
I have decided upon four stars, even though it is really a 3.75 for me. I would recommend with some caution.
On one hand, it starts so so well, with beautiful Isabel Allende-esque prose.
On the other, it eventually reads like a history book and ultimately ends up being two hundred pages too long and repetitive.
I have decided upon four stars, even though it is really a 3.75 for me. I would recommend with some caution.
June 28, 2021
Some other raters have mentioned it is too wordy and doesn't move quickly. I did not find this to be the case at all. I thought it very good...gory at times, but a good book!
October 15, 2019
This could have been a little shorter, but I enjoyed the stories of sisters Luzia and Emilia and the divergent paths life had in store for them, set against the backdrop of Brazil in the 1920s and 1930s. It was a complex interwoven story told from both sisters' perspectives, with alternating sections, and I would get sucked into one of their lives and then it would switch ... and whichever section I happened to be reading at the time, that sister was my favorite. It did get a little bogged down and repetitive in the middle, but it picked up a LOT in the last 100 pages, which were so action-packed and wonderful.
de Pontes Peebles' writing was descriptive but not flowery, and definitely gives you a specific time-and-place feel that I had not experienced before, seeing the "big city" of Recife through Emilia's country eyes, and shuffling through the drought-blighted caatinga with Luzia and the cangaceiros. It was very evocative.
The author's note at the end indicated that a lot of the history was simplified some for the sake of the narrative, but as someone who had no knowledge of early 20th-century Brazilian history, I found it quite interesting and informative anyway.
I might have more thoughts but they're a little jumble-y, so maybe I'll add to this later. 3.5 stars.
de Pontes Peebles' writing was descriptive but not flowery, and definitely gives you a specific time-and-place feel that I had not experienced before, seeing the "big city" of Recife through Emilia's country eyes, and shuffling through the drought-blighted caatinga with Luzia and the cangaceiros. It was very evocative.
The author's note at the end indicated that a lot of the history was simplified some for the sake of the narrative, but as someone who had no knowledge of early 20th-century Brazilian history, I found it quite interesting and informative anyway.
I might have more thoughts but they're a little jumble-y, so maybe I'll add to this later. 3.5 stars.
December 29, 2024
Die Geschichte von zwei Schwestern in Brasilien, Pernambuco, ab 1928 - 1935, die die beiden ins Erwachsen- werden begleitet. Die eine wird (zunächst unfreiwillig) Teil einer kriminellen und mordenden Bande - den "cangaceiros" - die im Hinterland leben und für soziale Gerechtigkeit und Umverteilung sowie ums Überleben kämpfen. Der anderen wird es durch Heirat ermöglicht vom Land in eine wohlhabende Familie in die Stadt zu ziehen, wo sie einen Modeladen eröffnet und sich für das Frauenwahlrecht einsetzt. Beide sind zu bewundernde Frauen, die sich durch die Zwänge und Erwartungen der damaligen Zeit kämpfen. Die Klassengesellschaft, der politische Umsturz und die daraus folgende Diktatur in Brasilien sowie die damals als "wissenschaftlich" anerkannten Methoden der Kraniometrie werden im Kontext der Geschichte eindrücklich dargestellt. Das Ende ist von Anfang an abzusehen und trotzdem bleibt die Spannung darüber was passieren wird erhalten. Das Buch hat seine Längen! 900 Seiten hätten es meines Erachtens nicht sein müssen. Aber die beiden Protagonistinnen Emilia und Luzia haben mich jetzt eine Zeit begleitet und es ist fast ein bisschen schade, dass es vorbei ist. ;)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 15, 2018
Wow, now this was an epic novel. I did at times find it a slow read but the details into the history of such trying times in Brazil were brilliantly done. Can totally see this on par with such iconic movies as Gone With The Wind if it were ever brought to the big screen.
January 14, 2020
Este ano, pelas minhas contas, li 39 livros de ficção até agora, tanto brasileira quanto estrangeira, e acho que acabei de ler o melhor de 2010. Se não for o melhor ficarei surpresa. Isso me levará a considerar o ano extraordinário pela riqueza de bons textos: significa que ainda vou ter surpresas mais espetaculares do que tive com o livro de Frances de Pontes Peebles, intitulado A COSTUREIRA E O CANGACEIRO [Nova Fronteira: 2009]. Foram 616 páginas que virei com prazer, curiosidade, ansiedade pelo desfecho e ainda fiquei com o gosto de “quero-mais”.
Este é um romance enraizado no estado de Pernambuco, que segue a vida de duas irmãs nascidas no início do século XX numa pequena cidade do interior do estado. Emília só pensa em sair dali. Faz de tudo para o conseguir. Luzia que, ainda criança, sofreu um acidente que a deixou com uma deficiência física, se vê sem futuro. Mas a vida traz surpresas para ambas. Cada qual persegue e procura um sonho, uma maneira de se realizar. Seus caminhos são muito diversos, mas mesmo assim, há uma forte conexão entre elas, que sem se falarem conseguem se manter “em contato” uma com a outra. Nesse ínterim, a história do Brasil, que no início do século parecia uma simples continuação do século XIX, dá uma guinada e Vargas sobe ao poder. A vida de cada uma é inesperadamente virada pelo avesso com essa mudança feita lá no sudeste do país, por um gaúcho. Ao longo do caminho, aprendemos muito sobre o Brasil, sobre a política regional de Pernambuco, sobre a oligarquia brasileira. Ao fechar o volume, compreendemos que além de seguirmos as peripécias dessas duas mulheres fortes e corajosas, seguimos também os caminhos do país e em particular do estado de Pernambuco. Finalmente compreende-se com a duplicidade das vida urbana e do sertão em Pernambuco, que como irmãs gêmeas xifópagas, não podem ou conseguem viver separadamente.
Raramente temos um romance brasileiro – um romance histórico – com a precisão de detalhes dados de forma interessante sobre um específico período. O que Frances de Pontes Peebles faz, é criar duas personagens críveis, na base de “gente como a gente”, e colocá-las interagindo com a sociedade brasileira já estabelecida. As duas irmãs encontram por si só os caminhos que as levam a viver e sobreviver num mundo que só tem horizontes muito limitados para cada uma delas. E nessa luta, nessa garra de não sucumbir às demandas sociais, nessa ânsia que ambas demonstram de sair do patamar em que ficariam, caso permanecessem na pequenina Taquaritinga do Norte, aprendemos sobre o Brasil, sobre a sociedade brasileira de uma época em que mal se votava e que nem as mulheres tinham direito ao voto.
O que faz esse romance tão especial? São muitas as razões: a voz narrativa, forte, sedutora. Mas há mais: personagens interessantes e complexos: não nos encontramos com os típicos estereótipos nordestinos quer nos personagens, quer na paisagem; cada detalhe descrito encontra sua razão de ser ao longo da narrativa, até mesmo os que parecem estar lá para dar uma ambientação; na falta de outra documentação, a reconstituição histórica é maravilhosamente baseada nos trajes de época—que marcam a vida da costureira e nos levam através das décadas em questão. Não há excessos. Os detalhes fazem a história e seus personagens tridimensionais, o roteiro se mostra bem amarrado, e parece incrível dizer-se isso de um romance de mais de 600 páginas: mas é sucinto. Como uma boa costureira, Frances de Pontes Peebles não dá ponto sem nó.
É necessário ressaltar a excelente tradução de Maria Helena Rouanet, cujo texto em português é riquíssimo em vocabulário e flui com uma destreza de mestre. Uma das melhores traduções que encontrei recentemente de romances estrangeiros. Frances de Pontes Peebles nasceu no Brasil, mas passou grande parte de sua vida nos Estados Unidos. Filha de mãe brasileira e de pai americano ela se sente mais à vontade no uso da língua inglesa. E antes deste romance – que é o seu primeiro, já havia publicado contos nos Estados Unidos. Hoje ela mora no Brasil
Este é um romance enraizado no estado de Pernambuco, que segue a vida de duas irmãs nascidas no início do século XX numa pequena cidade do interior do estado. Emília só pensa em sair dali. Faz de tudo para o conseguir. Luzia que, ainda criança, sofreu um acidente que a deixou com uma deficiência física, se vê sem futuro. Mas a vida traz surpresas para ambas. Cada qual persegue e procura um sonho, uma maneira de se realizar. Seus caminhos são muito diversos, mas mesmo assim, há uma forte conexão entre elas, que sem se falarem conseguem se manter “em contato” uma com a outra. Nesse ínterim, a história do Brasil, que no início do século parecia uma simples continuação do século XIX, dá uma guinada e Vargas sobe ao poder. A vida de cada uma é inesperadamente virada pelo avesso com essa mudança feita lá no sudeste do país, por um gaúcho. Ao longo do caminho, aprendemos muito sobre o Brasil, sobre a política regional de Pernambuco, sobre a oligarquia brasileira. Ao fechar o volume, compreendemos que além de seguirmos as peripécias dessas duas mulheres fortes e corajosas, seguimos também os caminhos do país e em particular do estado de Pernambuco. Finalmente compreende-se com a duplicidade das vida urbana e do sertão em Pernambuco, que como irmãs gêmeas xifópagas, não podem ou conseguem viver separadamente.
Raramente temos um romance brasileiro – um romance histórico – com a precisão de detalhes dados de forma interessante sobre um específico período. O que Frances de Pontes Peebles faz, é criar duas personagens críveis, na base de “gente como a gente”, e colocá-las interagindo com a sociedade brasileira já estabelecida. As duas irmãs encontram por si só os caminhos que as levam a viver e sobreviver num mundo que só tem horizontes muito limitados para cada uma delas. E nessa luta, nessa garra de não sucumbir às demandas sociais, nessa ânsia que ambas demonstram de sair do patamar em que ficariam, caso permanecessem na pequenina Taquaritinga do Norte, aprendemos sobre o Brasil, sobre a sociedade brasileira de uma época em que mal se votava e que nem as mulheres tinham direito ao voto.
O que faz esse romance tão especial? São muitas as razões: a voz narrativa, forte, sedutora. Mas há mais: personagens interessantes e complexos: não nos encontramos com os típicos estereótipos nordestinos quer nos personagens, quer na paisagem; cada detalhe descrito encontra sua razão de ser ao longo da narrativa, até mesmo os que parecem estar lá para dar uma ambientação; na falta de outra documentação, a reconstituição histórica é maravilhosamente baseada nos trajes de época—que marcam a vida da costureira e nos levam através das décadas em questão. Não há excessos. Os detalhes fazem a história e seus personagens tridimensionais, o roteiro se mostra bem amarrado, e parece incrível dizer-se isso de um romance de mais de 600 páginas: mas é sucinto. Como uma boa costureira, Frances de Pontes Peebles não dá ponto sem nó.
É necessário ressaltar a excelente tradução de Maria Helena Rouanet, cujo texto em português é riquíssimo em vocabulário e flui com uma destreza de mestre. Uma das melhores traduções que encontrei recentemente de romances estrangeiros. Frances de Pontes Peebles nasceu no Brasil, mas passou grande parte de sua vida nos Estados Unidos. Filha de mãe brasileira e de pai americano ela se sente mais à vontade no uso da língua inglesa. E antes deste romance – que é o seu primeiro, já havia publicado contos nos Estados Unidos. Hoje ela mora no Brasil
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