Too many coincidences and writing did not compel me to read further. No stars as it's DNF

I slutet av boken, som jag lyssnade på, började jag prata med rösten i örat och säga saker som "men kom igen", "ah visst sjääälvklart blev det så" och "nu får det fan räcka". Sen insåg jag att den stackars inläsaren inte hade något att göra med den läckande dramaturgin, bristen på karaktärsdrag att relatera till eller ens förstå och artefakterna, fysiska ting som boken mer eller mindre kretsat runt, helt misslyckats med att laddas med mening. Jag ber om ursäkt för att jag skrek på dig, Katarina Ewerlöf. Är du inte kontakt med Fiona Valpy kan du skicka över mina klagomål direkt till henne istället.

An excellent historical fiction book about WWII, the French Resistance and French couture. You follow Harriet on her life discovery journey as she finds more about her family history through her grandmother’s best friend. You will not want to put this book down till the very end.

Struggled to finish this one. Story itself, especially of the grandmothers, was the one that kept me going. But I found it difficult to enjoy how it’s written.

It’s supposedly about the granddaughter trying to find out about her grandmother’s life as a young person in WW2 Paris. She ended up learning about it through the grandmother’s friends’s granddaughter. So how come she could know some details of the grandmother’s story? (Sure it’s fiction, and there’s always a possible explanation about it)

I agree with what others said about the granddaughter’s story is rather weak. Also sounds a lot like trying to make her important but it’s just difficult to compare life experiences in those two generations. I ended up skimming lots of her part, especially closer to the end.

This is such an interesting story line, and it really actually hits home for me, as I've had my Mother die traumatically as well. Not by suicide but just as suddenly and tragically.

I also come from a line of trauma not only in my life but my Mom and Grandmother also.

So the psychological musings in here are pretty interesting, and I plan on looking up with Harriett is talking about to see if holds any merit or if it's just a part of the story line.

This story follows women in the resistance against Nazi Germany. I won't say more than that for spoiler reasons but it's one of many books about that time frame that really makes you stop and think about HOW it all happened. Why it was allowed to start in the first place.

It's absolutely worth a read.

- CJ

15 yr old me would have loved this book. However, there would just too many coincidences and things fitting together perfectly for me now. Harriet felt a bit like an author self-insert. It felt like Harriet’s thought process on her mother’s death was a regurgitation of a single article on inherited trauma. As a result, the way suicide was presented and discussed in the book left me uneasy.

Darul croitoresei, roman scris de Fiona Valpy și apărut la editura Bookzone, mi-a permis să mă întorc în lumea poveștilor emoționante pe care autoarea pare că le țese cu lejeritate. Am citit alte două romane scrise de Fiona Valpy și îmi aduc aminte că am fost încântată de ele, dar dezamăgită de formatul de buzunar pe care îl aveau. Știu că nu citim cărți pentru copertă, nici pentru format. Nu știu cum sunteți voi, dar eu greu citesc cărticelele micuțe. Sunt neîndemânatică, nu știu cum să văd scrisul care pare să se ducă tot mai mult spre cotor.

„Harriet află adevărul despre ea și despre bunica ei descoperind că povestea familiei sale este mai întunecată și mai dureroasă decât și-ar fi putut imagina vreodată”. – Leigh, Goodreads

Vă dați seama de bucuria mea atunci când am aflat că prietenii de la Bookzone au preluat autoarea în portofoliul lor. Au păstrat coperta originală, au scos un format mare. Ce să mai, dragoste la prima vedere! Dintre cele două titluri noi, am ales să descopăr întâi Darul croitoresei. Se pare că mi-am făcut un obicei și bifez (măcar) un titlu din categoria ficțiune istorică.


https://ancasicartile.ro/darul-croitoresei-fiona-valpy-recenzie/

I feel like I've read this story before but told better ... certainly someone who dies just at the moment of salvation seems to happen a lot. Is it the relief? It was an ok read. Claire story I enjoyed more then Harriet though I was in Paris about the same time this is set in.