Customer Reviews

The Seamstress: A Novel

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4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many other fine reviews here have provided excellent and very detailed synopses of this book. As stated, the actions took place in the time frame between 1928 and 1935 in Brazil and follow the lives of two sisters whose lives diverged in their late teens due to fate and circumstance.

The author wove the stories together along with the major events of the times in a very effective manner. The chapters were each relatively long, however, I particularly liked the fact that these long chapters were broken up into multiple sub-chapters. Each chapter focused on one sister or the other in an alternating manner. I was almost immediately swept up into the lives and adventures of each sister.

Frances De Pontes Peebles did a superb job, in my opinion, of keeping the mystery and the suspense alive throughout the book by dropping little tidbits of information. Like a trail of bread crumbs I just had to follow to find out what the circumstances were that had led to this or that development. As an example, in the prologue, Emilia's husband, Degas, is dead and the family is in mourning. Yet, in Emila's story we come to know Degas - his fears and his foibles - only gradually. Similar instances are expertly woven throughout.

Emilia intrigued me, nothing at the core of her existence, her horrible burden of guilt and remorse at having failed her younger sister, was ever allowed to escape for long past the placid, fashionable face that she presented to the world. She became a guiding force within the Women's Auxiliary while never actually becoming acceptable to them. The politics here was as tricky and risky for Emilia as the scrublands were for Luzia.

Antonio, "The Hawk", Luzia's husband was a dark, exciting character. He had an iron will and a resolve that was awe-inspiring. His men and Luzia, dubbed "The Seamstress" because of her fine needle skills, followed and obeyed him unquestioningly and without reservation. His tutorage channeled Luzia's natural outspokenness into the assured, charismatic leader that she later became. Then, the Seamstress no longer sewed cloth but rather she kept her group stitched together through the strength of her personality and fortitude.

I loved the way the characters grew and developed throughout the story. The characters came alive for me as I read about the revolution, the drought, and most especially how difficult simple existence was in the vast inland badlands even during the best of times.

I have never read any book, historical or otherwise, set in Brazil. I am glad to have read this one as I found it to be entertaining as well as enlightening. With The Seamstress the author stitches the events and people together almost flawlessly in this well-written adventure set in a fascinating historical period.

The book is literary historical fiction set in 1930s Brasil. Two sisters from a small town are separated in their late teens--one taken by brigands, the other driven to pursue her ambition to own a house with a tiled kitchen. They can only follow each other's exploits through the newspapers at a time when Brasil undergoes a massive political upheaval and turn towards fascism. The story unfolds in alternating sections, overlapping in time, following each sister as she tries to navigate in a new environment's dangerous rules, while haunted by her sister's memory.

At its base, this book is about the relationship between two sisters as they change and grow and find (or don't find) what they were looking for. Everything you can imagine happens here--marriage, betrayal, love, death, secrets; and some of the best charged dialogue written in recent years. (Every time Dona Dulce opens her mouth, you'll wince!)

When I read novels of this sort--thick, dense, and inviting me into an entirely strange new world (just as Luzia and Emilia find themselves in new terrains, so does the reader)--I want to be completely swept away. At times, Peebles succeeds, making the caatinga or the persnickety society of Recife come to life. At other times, however, the 'fictive dream' seems muddled by slightly too-thin characterization. I never quite got my heart around Emilia--she starts out as more than a merely narcissistic self-absorbed silly teenager (weren't we all, once?), and seems downright mean from the get-go. I guess I never really forgave her that, nor did I see or understand what Luzia loved about her sister. And Emilia's actions change too much without explanation. Wanting to marry for love and profit, she too easily gives up on the 'love' part, and seems entirely sexless and bland and emotionally dead to others, as if love for her sister has taken every scrap of affection from her heart.

The book tries hard to be 'literary'--a bit too hard for my tastes, but I'm a literature professor, so I tend to dislike being bludgeoned with symbolism. But if you're an armchair English major, there's much to occupy your brain about this book. Themes one can follow with profit--heads, measurement, blindness/sight, barrenness/fertility, religion/science, modernity/tradition, city/country, memory/present reality....you get the idea. It elevates this book above the usual run of 'heartwarming sister stories' or 'escapist historical fiction', but may turn one off if one prefers one's symbolism served with a side of subtlety. The Prologue is so fraught with obvious "These Are Like Totally Meaningful" items that it seems topheavy and in my mind distracts from the storyline.

One other thing that may irk some readers--Peebles *crams* you with Brasilian words (with no gesture on how to pronounce them). That's fine, insofar as it creates that illusion of place. But she blows the whole deal when she names the chief brigand The Hawk, and has him buy stationery with an engraved 'H' (for 'Hawk'). (Similarly, Little Ear's initials, in the book, are, L.E.) The Portuguese word for 'hawk' is 'falcao,' which does NOT begin with an H. She could just as easily have named in 'Falcao' with no loss to the reader, and no idiotic slip of continuity. And do you wanna bet "little ear" in Portuguese or Brasilian slang doesn't begin with and L and an E? It seemed out of place in a world so committed to stuffing my brain and tripping my tongue in foreign words and phrases, and really broke that nice escapist illusion I was hoping for.

A good read, that, if you're not an overly fussy literature professor, will absolutely entertain. If you ARE an overly fussy lit professor, it's still enjoyable and much better worth your time than many things out there.

Overview:

Here we have a novel which takes us far beyond the parameters of `women's reading'. This is an epic tale of Brazil, of interest to men and women alike. The story is conveyed through an insightful quilt-work of dichotomies and we get some great advice along the way, ergo: "Never trust a strange tape!" I can assure you now that you'll have to read through to near the end of this first-rate story to fully appreciate that sage little jot of counsel.

Descriptive Summary:

An actuality clearly imparted to readers of this book is that children are the same everywhere, regardless of a chronological era or of geography. After the Prologue we encounter the two dos Santos girls existing in derisory circumstances under the vigilant eye of a strict old aunt in a scrublands village of 1920s and `30s Northeastern Brazil: Taquaritinga. Early on, the younger and more tomboyish of the sisters, Luzia, experiences a great personal tragedy which defines her life's course - she falls from a mango tree while mischievously pilfering fruit and the impact of the fall leads to a minor brain injury as well as leaving her with a permanently disfigured arm. Due to a poorly-set bone by a local incompetent, the elbow becomes locked for life at a ninety-degree angle.

Not long after this, while Luzia is at school and defending her elder sister, Emília, from a youthful male antagonist, the bully orally retaliates by cleverly but brutally dubbing Luzia as "Victrola," thus comparing her pathetically angled arm to the brass playing arm of the now ancient but well-remembered, hand-cranked, trumpet-speakered RCA Victor phonograph. Tragically, this sobriquet sticks region-wide and in every frequent instance in which Victrola is subsequently so addressed by the town-folk she is re-reminded of the unjust cruelty of human society. This appalling emotional exploitation generates a cumulative and injurious psychological effect on her. As I said, kids are the same worldwide, the larger point here being that the reader is immediately drawn into an empathetic relationship with the book's chief character. Is it not true that we have all been on either the rendering or the receiving end of such regrettable comments during our childhood school days?

The venerable Aunt Sofia, who takes charge of the girls subsequent to the untimely death of the mother, and ultimately of the drunken shell of a father, was renowned as the top seamstress of her community. She makes it her business to see that her two wards will live to enjoy, if not a regal social status in the town, then at least an honorable one by teaching them all she knows of her craft. Aunt Sofia also sends the girls to a school of sorts where they receive formal sewing lessons on the new and complex Singer sewing machines. While at the school, Emília additionally gets her first lesson in the incongruities of love.

Both girls are okay with their aunt's agenda except that Emília secretly resolves to forsake her impecunious home place for a better life in the big city, hopefully with a distinguished husband who will provide for her wants and needs. This wallpaper sets the stage for the reader to digest the larger focus of the book which is Brazil's populist political direction and the ensuing social turmoil. In hindsight, we of course know that the rich and powerful nearly always eventually prevail in this world; however, the author allows us to discount that nuance for the moment by arming the reader with the perspectives of the region's poor folks and we can thus take on their considerable pain.

Subsequent to the death of their aunt the two sisters go their separate ways, Emília clearly by design, but with Luzia/Victrola were not so certain. Luzia is taken captive by bandit cangaceiros but in the back of the reader's mind there remains a tiny notion that she's actually fleeing from the heinous metaphor of Victrola. The two girls quickly evolve to noteworthy positions in their respective, contrasting environments - one in the wilds as a cangaceiro and one in urban surroundings where she can design and market fashionable dresses.

Luzia learns from and comes to worship her new soul mate, Antônio Teixeira, aka "The Hawk" (a cangaceiro leader), while Emília becomes dwarfed and repressed in the household of her in-laws, the Coelho family. Her new father-in-law, a medical doctor and rabid populist, is convinced that phrenology holds all the answers to reversing the problem of the nation's criminal activity. His wife, Dona Dulce, is a neurotic despot and minor masochist whose life focus is appearance rather than substance. Emília's husband seems nice enough but his secrets are truly dark ones and extorting his own wife becomes a personal imperative.

Three competing factions become the primary players of the novel - the cangaceiros (bandits) and their sympathizers; the colonels (rural land barons) along with their minions and supporters, and; Celestino Gomes, Green Party populist, and his supporters within the urban regions of Brazil. Before it's all over, alliances change and re-change given the political winds of any particular window in time.

Think of the cangaceiros as a "noir" strain of Robin Hood's Merry Men. Paradoxically, the cangaceiros also steal, rob, and murder when it is in either their personal or political interests. Some cangaceiros appear as outright thugs while a lesser percentage wield tenuously ethical personalities which generate a more Arthurian view of them in the eyes of the local poverty-stricken class. Compared to robber-bands observable in other cultures, the cangaceiros are portrayed as somewhat unique in that they integrate women into key roles of their often nefarious activities, such actions which are more often associated with men.

The colonels manifest a certain level of stability in Brazil's wilder regions where the police and military presence is virtually non-existent. They emerge as a law unto themselves, frequently profiteering on the backs of the pitiable indigenous residents of these socially repressed regions. Thus, when an individual of this elite faction is either robbed or killed by a cangaceiro, a silent "Hurrah!" emanates from the exploited souls who have previously been beholden to him.

Two sub-plots provide additional platforms within the novel, the first being the Brazilian Presidential election. Gomes, an extreme populist of The First Water provides hopeful promise for both the financially repressed and the suffragette populaces. The aftermath of the election is a profound facet of the story. The second and lesser sub-plot involves the global spider web of economic impacts resultant of the 1929 New York Stock Market crash.

The story's actualities and emotions are as momentous and as vast as Brazil's back-country. They include, but are not limited to, love, fear, prayer, death, intimidation, hope, revulsion, lust, violence, torture, redemption, deceit, repression, blackmail, retribution, satisfaction, and sexual conduct of more than one brand.

Evaluative Summary:

"The Seamstress" is to Brazil what Gone with the Wind was to America in terms of cultural, political, and historical paradigms. This lengthy work and intellectually clever story is nearly epic in its scope. There are two ways to tell a story. One is to generate either a real or an imaginary picture board and to then devise an outline for relating the story. Then the tale is conveniently plugged into the design. The second way, the superior method, is to simply focus on telling the story and let the chips fall where they will. "The Seamstress" is a product of this latter method, albeit the author shrewdly heightened the suspense level by episodically breaking up one facet of action, diverting us to yet another at key intervals.

There are niggling little corners in the text of this book which will alert the more analytical readers that the work was possibly written by a person not U.S.-born; however, this caveat is not at all a negative feature from my view -- conversely, in this instance I found the writing style to be quite refreshing which provides some much-needed relief from the glut of insipid prose to which we are sometimes compelled to endure in contemporary fiction.

The author's acuity for the value of pertinent historical facts, in parallel with the main story, lends added interest to this tale. Some of these actualities introduce inventions of the period including the hydroplane, the Graf Zeppelin, and the zipper! The 1929 Stock Market Crash as well as a tiny mention of a troubling figure rising to power in Germany also add to reader interest.

Some readers have a concern with the presence of graphic language and violence -- yes, it is present. But the reader is not bombarded with excessive profanity or gore. These key elements were clearly not injected for the sole purpose of generating sensation. All of these instances are quite appropriately and tastefully conveyed, and each serves a specific purpose in the holistic illumination of the story. Along those same lines of thought, while the novel seems quite lengthy at 642 pages, I would assert that every sentence yields value to the overall work. This novel is intelligently-written and will withstand the test of time. In fact, if I have a problem with the book at all it's that I wish it were lengthier.

The work is not flawless; however, the couple of factual errors which I did encounter left me with a personal assurance that the author is quite human. As a result I felt more connected with the story and its characters. I analogized these minor imperfections to the enigma of Countess Rostova's "lost" eight children in "War and Peace" - we don't know where they went but while we recognize that Tolstoy clearly made an error in a single sentence it ultimately served to help us to bond with that brilliant man. Also, while it didn't bother me, I did notice that the work is just a little scanty on dialogue.

I do wish to point out that precisely the right number (not all that many if you actually count them) of Portuguese words have been woven into this story, all of which are immediately decipherable via context. Secondly, this is one of the few books I've ever read which qualifies as literature and yet, which maintains an easy, flowing text. Almost anyone could read this book with total comprehension of the story and its many colorful characters.

Finally, regarding an allusion which I made at the outset of this review, the author has shrewdly incorporated a balanced measure of symbolism and metaphor which successfully boosts the overall quality of the novel. This quotation from page 389 which is Emília's speculation on Gomes' proposed national roadway into the drought-ridden and dangerous backlands is an example:

"As he spoke, Emília felt chills. She pictured that roadway - wide, smooth, and flat, like a black ribbon. It would be a clean line, stitching the state together. Forcing people to look inward, toward the countryside instead of away from it. If such a road had been in place years before, she and Luzia might have made different choices. Their lives wouldn't have been so closed from opportunity. They wouldn't have had to make such desperate escapes."

This novel garners my highest recommendation, especially for enthusiasts of either contemporary fiction or of historical literature.

The Seamstress: A Novel is a novel about two sisters who come of age in 1920s/30s Brazil.

The sisters are Emilia, who is romantic and refined, and Luzia, who is prickly and damaged from a childhood accident. They grow up with their aunt Sofia who teaches them how to be a seamstress.

The metaphor of being a seamstress is that each young woman knows how to shape and conform to the events that they encounter in a land where social and political changes are happening at a rapid pace.

The first third of the novel is about their life with Aunt Sofia, but that life is shaken when Luzia is taken by a rebel gang/thieves called cangaciero.

To survive, Luzia will mold herself to become part of the gang that has altered the course of her life. Emilia will later marry into an affluent family where she will also mold herself to fit into that world.

I won't say that The Seamstress: A Novel is an easy story to read. The truth is that it took some time to get used to. The point of view that shifts between the sisters is clearly laid out, but the rhythm of the prose, with the deep details of the setting, the generous use of the Portuguese language, and the large cast of characters, was a challenge. I am certain that there was a lot that I missed on my first read.

Yet, once I settled into its narrative rhythm, the story of Luzia and Emilia unfolds almost as if it were from a fantasy novel because the world of early 20th Century Brazil is a world long gone and Ms De Pontes Peebles conveys that world with its rich details of affluent Brazilian society to the rough open land of the lawless backcountry very, very well. Even when the action is in the foreground, the reader does not forget that in the background is the rise of a new political power, a clash of the old, and the slow change that was inevitable in social class as nations like Brazil began to modernize and like it or not, the characters are being influenced by this change as much as by each other.

As I read, Ms De Pontes Peeble's prose allowed me to feel the dirt that Luzia experienced as she learned to live in the backcountry as well as feel the stifling heat that Emilia encountered as she learned that her safe life came with a price. It was a slow process but she got me there where I felt the story of the sisters in a tangible way.

For me, the story of Luzia seemed the stronger of the two because it is full of struggle and loss. Yet, Emilia's side has its own intrigue as well that sustained my interest.

If there are drawbacks to the novel, it is that it might be a little too long with too many details and that there is limited interaction between the sisters after a certain point in the novel.

That said, Ms De Pontes Peebles writes with a sure hand and brings back to life a world and society that has passed. That made the reading of The Seamstress: A Novel to be a fresh and rewarding experience and I am sure that I will re-read it again to find new details that will enrich my understanding of the world that was created.

"The Seamtress A Novel" by Frances De Pontes Peebles is a long book (600+ pages) but once you start turning the pages, you don't notice how long the book is. M's De Pontes Peebles' book is the story of two orphaned sisters lives againts the background of 1930s Brazil. Emilia, the older of the two, is pretty and a romantic. She longs to escape her life from Taquaritinga do Norte. She has plans to do this with her sewing instructor, Professor Celio.
Luzia, the younger and more pragmatic one, believes she will end up taking care of her Aunt Sophia and becoming a spinster because of her poorly healed broken arm. Beceause of an accident when Luzia was 11, her arm healed crookedly and she got the nickname "Victrola" from the townspeople.
Both are totally wrong about what lies in their future.
The novel alternates between the sisters' lives during the some time period. Emilia enters into a marriage with a man she doesn't love and doesn't know anything about. Luzia is taken away by the Hawk, the leader of a group of cancageiros, to face Heaven knows what.
Along the way, you can learn a lot about Brazil's history during the 1930s. I never knew that time period was so full of civil unrest. You also learn about sewing as a metaphor for life. Aunt Sopia always advised Emilia and Luzia to "cut straight and cut fast" but Emilia seems to ignore this advice. She prefers to take her time, cutting out the pattern, making a muslin and making all the adjustments prior to the final cut. Luzia obviously lives by the advice.
What makes this book work for me is the way M's De Pontes Peebles is able to capture the emotional cadence of the sisters relationships. This is generally hard to do - you can look at any number of books that are supposed to focus on the sibling relationship and they don't ring true. M's De Pontes Peebles manages to capture the ambiguous love sisters have - sometimes loving, sometimes hating, sometimes jealous or disparging, but always protective of each other. That M's De Pontes Peebles manages to craft this relationship and have it play against a larger background is terrific. This is first book by a new talent and I look forward to reading more great novels from M's De Pontes Peebles.
I recommend this book highly for those of you who want to really dive into a book. It is vaguely reminiscent of "Love in the Time of Cholera". It's that descriptive and takes you into the time period, the places and emotions of these siblings and how their lives play out. Buy it!

Frances de Pontes Peebles has written a large novel, I'd say above average in length compared to most debut novels, which usually run too long also.
After the first few paragraph of 'The Seamstress' I was immediately reminded of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's writing. By this I mean extremely wordy with lots of adjectives and rife with symbolism. I would not be surprised at all if Marquez was a large influence on de Pontes Peebles' writing style.
I am a fan of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and if you have read and enjoyed his novels then you would most likely enjoy this book as well.
I gave 'The Seamstress' three stars because it is an intriguing story line and despite beginning with several elaborate metaphors is easy to get into and keeps you engaged.
However, it does become overly verbose fairly often and indeed is a good bit too long. This seems to be a trend among debut novels and new authors. I do sense great potential in future writings and look forward to her next endeavor.

Frances De Pontes Peebles' Brazilian ancestry, and undoubtedly years of listening to tales, comes through in the realism of her first novel. It is a historical novel set in Brazil in the early 30's.


It's very hard to review a book without giving away any of the plot. I don't think it's too much at this point to describe the overall theme as a duality between two sisters, Luzia, with a disfigurement, and the beautiful Emília. The two develop separate personalities and embark on very separate life paths. Thus, two sides of early 20th century Brazilian culture is told through this mechanism.

Even the title furthers a dualism theme, playing with the characters' early training and later events in the book.

It's a long book, but not excessively so, more akin to a slow ride through the South American countryside. I think it's a very good first novel.

The story takes place in Brazil, with our heroine Emilia, coming from the town of Taquaritinga de Norte, Pernambuco. I have visited Brazil, but concentrated my travel in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, so it was with great anticipation that I took to reading this 641 pages novel by Frances de Pontes Peebles.

From the first pages the author was able to capture my attention. The writing style is descriptive, sharing with readers the secrets of her culture. Her explanation of the meaning of saints is enchanting.
* Saint Expedito: the "answerer of all impossible requests."
* Santo Antonio: the matchmaker saint young women pray to in order to get the "right beau." An image of the saint is placed in front of a mirror with a white flower next to it as they pray to find the perfect mate.

The style of this writer teaches extensively and I found myself looking up words and enjoying her fascinating explanations, just like with the word "cangaceiro," the late 19th century name given to social bandits in the North of Brazil, where many men and women decided to become nomadic bandits as a reaction against the domination of land owners, the government and the European colonizers.

The author provides meaning from many perspectives, such as: if a farmer, cangaceiro meant hero and protector; if a merchant, a thief; if a girl, fine dancers and romantic heroes, but if a mother a defiler or devil incarnate; and finally for a colonel, an inevitable nuisance. Through these perspectives she teaches us that depending on the impact of these bandits on the specific social elements, they were seen in a different light.

The sisters: Emilia and Luzia grow up during difficult times and the story starts around March of 1928, taking the reader through the tumultuous times in Brazil during the 30's.

The book cover is too dark for my taste and the letters hard to read, but once you get into the story, your imagination is captured and you live the adventures right along with the characters. I would highly recommend reading this work, especially if you want to open the door to the wonders of Brazil.

In this gripping novel, The Seamstress, we meet two young women, sisters. Emilia and Luzia. Girls who have known more than their share of tragedy at tender young ages. Orphaned, they are raised by their aunt and reside in a small village, Taquariringa. Aunt Sofia has not had an easy life, but she battles to raise the girls with with morals and honor. She prays everyday that the girls will realize they are flesh and blood and that all they have in this world is each other.Perhaps this is the saving grace that will bind the girls together despite this attempts to never let that happen. Her skill has always been being a Seamstress, and she teaches the girls this fine art. I was impressed the way the author blends this into her novel.
The girls are as different as night and day. Emilia is like a delicate flower and loves beautiful things, while Luzia has been hardened due to a tragic accident that left her with a deformed arm. Both girls learned to pray early in life, although their methods are different, this was instilled in each of them. As time passes Luzia ,due to events not of her own making, becomes a rebel bandit and begins to battle the land barons who are cruel and evil. Emilia marries the son of a wealthy doctor and she sees that splendor is not always as beautiful as she thought it was. As time moves on in their lives, Emilia longs for the relationship of her sister and when danger lurks for her the battle is on to regain love and family.

It is always inspiring to read a novel that takes you on the journey of family members, their trials, tribulations, victories and defeats. In this novel we travel deep into the very hearts of Emilia and Luzia as they desperately seek the meaning of their existence, strive for some form of fulfillment, and slowly realize the importance and bond of family. This is a well written saga with strong, well defined characters, whom you are given privy to the depth of their emotions as their life is being played out. Good plays against evil, battle lines drawn, decisions made and questioned as each girl walks towards their destiny. It is a story of loyalty, surrounded with adventure, often dripping with sorrow, and never leaving you wanting. Locals are rich in their description and other players in this novel are vivid, sometimes frightening, sometimes engaging, but always fitting into the theme of this work. A deep, rich book. One full of life, love, and longing, and one that must be slowly savored one page at a time. Be warned this is a large book, over 600 pages, one that unless you are a very quick reader you will need to set aside time to fully enjoy. However, well worth your consideration.

Shirley Priscilla Johnson

Please forgive my amateurish writing, I'm not too good at reviewing books, I usually just say, "loved it" or "hated it", but I was very impressed by this book. :)

Frances De Pontes Peebles scored a big hit with her debut novel about love, betrayal, petty prejudices and the loss of innocence set in early 20th century Brazil.

The book is not meant to be a novel of suspense, but I literally could not put it down! The house was a mess the whole time I was reading it. It's about 700 pages, so I was engrossed in it for about 2 days.

I didn't know anything about the violent dictatorship that took over Brazil in the 20's and 30's (& apparently lasted into the 50's), nor anything about the cangasceiros (bandits), so I found the book not only entertaining, but educational as well.

My heart went out to both Emilia, with her sad marriage of convenience and Luzia, whose anger found the most violent outlets possible. Both sisters had their minor triumphs and major disillusionments in this book, which spanned the course of about 8 years.

I found it fascinating how both girls ended up using their sewing skills in such vastly different ways.

I anxiously await her next novel.