The Paris Seamstress Book Review

 The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester

2018 (ebook Edition)

Historical Fiction

I’m going to be honest and say I started this book with low expectations. I thought it might be a fun read about a Paris seamstress, Estelle, who flees Paris during WWII and becomes a fashion designer in New York. I was not expecting everything else. But folks, this book managed to tear my heart apart. It has everything you could ask for, with romance, murdering psychopaths, children born out of wedlock, *passion*, death, impeccable fashion, twins separated at birth and most important of all: SECRETS.

I loved how clothing played a role throughout the novel. Paris is known for fashion, so it was so interesting to take a walk back through time. Furthermore, Estelle’s focus on practical fashion for women also shadows how fashion changed during the war. The symbolism of the gold dress throughout the novel was spectacular, and I wish I owned it.

Not unlike other popular war stories like All the Light We Cannot See and The Nightingale, The Paris Seamstress uses a dual timeline to tell the story of Estelle in the 1940s and a woman from our period. I didn’t realize that the story was a dual timeline when I first checked out this ebook, but I think that The Paris Seamstress is a case of the literary device done well because both narratives were treated with equal weight.

The ending of the book, while I won’t spoil it, was really what made the story so well rounded. This was a book where I expected things to be okay at the end, so I was blown away by what happened. Everything was set up so well and I never felt like any of the sad parts were there solely for a reaction.

Rating: 4.5/5 Even though it’s the beginning of winter, I would call The Paris Seamstress the perfect beach book. It is heavier than the typical beach novel, but was such a fun read and I was glued to every page! Lester is a master storyteller, and I would highly recommend this read!