I would rate this book between 3.5 - 4 stars. Overall, I thought the novel was great. Considering the number of novels I've read about WWII and the Holocaust, this one had a very unique premise, focusing on the impact to Paris and the fashion industry. I thought the half of the story set in the past around Claire, Mireille, and Vivienne was fantastic. I really felt for those characters and the hardships they endured. However, I didn't really care for Harriet's story during the present time. I thought the links between past and present were a little rough as the reader had to assume that Mireille knew all of these detailed snippets about Claire's time during the war to now share them with Claire. Also, the use of inherited trauma forced the reader to suspend a lot of disbelief. Halfway through the story, I started skimming/skipping Harriet's sections and found I wasn't really missing that much.

Overall, a great story with some not so great chapters.

Granddaughter's perspective absolutely ruined what could have been a very good book!

*audio book*
I really enjoyed this audiobook. Historical fiction is not my normal genre and I always forget just how much I do love it when I do read/listen to one. The interlinking story was lovely and sweet, even if the main bulk of the story was about the concentration camps. It was so well written, even when describing the horror's of the camps.

Loved this book!

Standard WWII storyline. I liked how the author chose two similar characters, but set them on slightly different paths.

I have been on a WWII “kick” lately and this book fed my needs wonderfully. In this story we follow Harriet, a young university grad making her way in the world of Paris fashion.
She’s drawn here, among other reasons, by a longing to know her family story and learn more about her grandmother, Claire, and her friends in WWII Paris. The novel flashes between modern day Harriet, and early 1940’s Claire and her friends, Mireille and Vivi.
The women fight for survival as couture seamstresses- and maybe more- during a time of fear and uncertainty.
Harriet learns more than she could have imagined about her past and thusly, herself. Along the way she creates a space and a life of her own in Paris, too. Woven throughout the novel are fantastic descriptions and references to the immaculate creations of art/clothing left through time.
The story is of perseverance, sisterly love, duty, honor and life. I recommend it for anyone interested in period novels, strong women or the psychology of inherited trauma. This book was absolutely gorgeous, as I know the women’s work was too.

I love a good WWII story and this one did not disappoint. The story about the three seamstresses who also worked for the French Resistance was fascinating. I know this was a historical fiction and not about real women, but it represented the actions of very brave men and women who fought, in their own way, during Nazi occupation. The part where they were arrested and taken to the labor/concentration camps was heartbreaking. It is awful what humans are capable of and I hope no one has to experience that ever again. But history tends to repeat itself in some form eventually. The secondary story line of Claire's grand-daughter, Harriet, was interesting. Can you imagine learning all of that about your grandmother and her friends? I was so sad when she decided to break it off with her boyfriend because she felt unworthy, unhinged or damaged. Overall, a really great read!

Harriet beger sig till Paris för ett års praktik i en välrenommerad PR-firma inom mode. En firma som befinner sig i exakt samma byggnad som hennes mormor bodde och jobbade, som sömmerska, i under andra världskriget. Hon vill hitta sanningen om sin historia - och upptäcker att hennes nya arbets- och rumskamrat, Simone, är barnbarn till mormoderns arbetskamrat. Och hon får, via dessa, veta mer om mormodern - och lär sig mer om både sig själv och även modern. Men som Simone först säger: vill hon verkligen veta allt?
Simone berättar historien om tre kvinnor - Claire, Mireille och Vivienne - som arbetar som sömmerskor hos ett välbesökt modehus. Motståndsrörelsen rekryterar, men vågar de hjälpa till? Eller ska de passa på att "leva livet"? Vad är rätt och vad är fel när man försöker överleva?
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Tack vare Feelgoodfredag och Bonniers förlag fick jag läsa den här boken innan den släpptes (vilket den görs idag) och det var sträckläsning som gällde! Historien är väldigt spännande, även om en del händelser är lite väl "oj, vilken tur att just det här skedde just nu"