The Paris Seamstress

The Paris Seamstress was my first of Lester's books, and I was looking forward to the read after finding glowing reviews here and on Goodreads.Lester's a talented writer, and I have no quarrel with her skill. My problem is with the storyline and characters, whom I struggled to like or relate to.The young Estelle is selfish, (sometimes) clueless, and unappealingly self-absorbed. I pushed through her shallowness in the beginning of the book because I wanted to see what the hype was about. Thankfully, she improves a little in old age. Her granddaughter, Fabienne, is too unrealistic in her attitude toward her work. (I realize that this is fiction, but who's going to be able to just jet off right after starting her "dream job?") Sam's repression of his love for Estelle is pathetic; the man would declare himself earlier, especailly if he's man enough for Estelle at the end. The male romantic leads are too perfect: handsome, manly, romantic.The story seems formulaic, and the author glosses overmost of the horrors of the war. (It's not a documentary, but Lester's depiction of Occupied Paris is too sanitized.) And I'm tired of books that bounce between generations. Been there, done that. It's as if authors can't find enough to build a story in one generation, and think, "Hey! Let's add an ancestor's story to flesh things out!"All in all, the book disappointed me. I won't be reading another of Lester's works.

This novel was somewhat interesting as I love the time period, but the story was just unbelievable and the characters were very stereotyped. The story line is okay, rather predictable, and this book does not compare with The Nightingale or House on the Rue Amelie.

The Paris Seamstress is by Natasha Lester. It is a story of sacrifice, second chances, bravery, and courage. It is also the story of love between Mother and Child.Estella was the head of Stella Designs out of New York. She had come to the United States from Paris. At that time, all she knew was that her Father was an American. She had no idea who he was but it gave her a way to get into the United States at this time. She had jeopardized her place in Paris when she delivered a package to a spy when a friend asked her to. In order to save her life, her Mother sent her to the US with only a suitcase and her sewing machine. Through her perseverance, her love of designing, help from others, and lots of luck, she managed to create her own designs and make a name for herself in the United States. When she died, her estate went to her granddaughter, Fabiene who when she found her Father’s birth certificate realized he was not Estella’s child except by adoption. Her search to find out the truth about her ancestry takes her from New York City back to Paris during World War II. This is the story of her quest to find out who Estella really was.The book is easy to read and takes you back to World War II and its aftermath. It is well-written and is very interesting.

The characters are engaging or interesting, as is the time setting, which gives a clear picture of the era in small portraits. There were two things that really detracted from my being fully staged in it. The first and most egregious was the way shift to conclusions some of the characters jumped to conclusions based on unverified beliefs. Really, it was aggravating and seemed inconsistent with the seemingly bright characters so it felt contrived for plot purposes.The second aggravation was the skipping around in time. it did not work to enhance the story the way it should was done

I originally downloaded a free preview of this novel issued by Hatchette from Netgalley. After enjoying the four chapter taster, I bought and read The Paris Seamstress in full.Told from a duel point of view, the narrative switches between the two female protagonists; Estella Bissette's life as a seamstress, living in nineteen-forty Paris before she is forced to flee to America to begin a new life. Fabienne Bissette, Estella's granddaughter brings the story to the present time as she delves into her family's past after her father, Xander died.Filled with heartbreaking intrigue, the shocking discoveries made by Fabienne certainly add darkness to the riveting narrative. Fear not, there are plenty of high points too. With equally fascinating characters who pull everything together in this well-researched page-turner.'That a piece of clothing could do so much. That it had power beyond the fabric and the thread and the pattern.'It's always a delight to learn something new when reading a novel and I particularly enjoyed learning the fascinating details and techniques used by seamstresses working on couture designs. The insightful inclusion by the author is a fascinating embellishment for this curious reader. It's always a treat to finish a book knowing more than I did before I began.My favourite reads for 2018 have mostly been those with a historical theme and The Paris Seamstress is definitely one which leaves a lasting impression.

I have been involved in Holocaust education. Reading books that involve rescue, resistance, resilience. The people resistance is amazing. Many were murdered, and many survived. They are my heroes. some of my friends are survivors. Their revenge to Hitler. Survive and become.

This book is absolutely beautiful. It tells the story of a young Estelle Bissette who escapes France weeks before the Germans arrive and lands in New York penniless but determined to break into the fashion industry. One is completely absorbed in her joie de vivre as she perseveres in this brutal business. The story is complex and rich in characters and laced with a great love. Her grand daughter Fabienne's continuation of her grandmother's legacy takes one into 2015. Ms. Lester takes you through the alleys of The Marais at a frightening pace and then through the steam and bustle of Seventh Avenue in the Garment District in New York. Her descriptions of couture and emotionally heartbreaking love deserve my rating of 5 stars. A wonderful read. Thank you Natasha Lester for sharing your gift.

It's no secret that Natasha Lester's Her Mother's Secret was my favourite book of 2017 (and maybe for several years) so I was excited (and a little nervous) to read her new one. I don't know how she does it, but every time I read one of Natasha's books it imparts a little wisdom to me that I really needed to hear at that moment in time. In this book it was just after Estella's first fashion show and, funnily enough, just after Leo (the heroine from Her Mother's Secret) makes a cameo appearance!.Tougher going than HMS, there were moments when I had to put the book to one side to take stock - but I find I have to do that with a lot of books set in WW2 - but just as exquisitely written, The Paris Seamstress sweeps the reader along from Paris to New York to Sydney and from the 1940s to the present day with intrigue, heartbreak and, ultimately not one, but two heartstopping love stories.I cannot tell you how much I loved this book and I cannot cannot recommend it enough. Please write faster Natasha!!

This has to be the most beautiful book I've read in a very long time, and I neither give five stars often, nor give Praise lightly. Yes, it has a few faults - the use of modern terminology a few times in wartime, and sometimes a little confusion between the two parallel stories, for example - but the rest is so enjoyable, I feel I can overlook them. After all, it's rare to find total perfection. There are, in fact, two intertwined stories, one set in modern times and th other during wartime. Estella was the shining star for me, a strong character that was determined to reach her goals, and Alex a close second. They were real, believable people that I empathised with thoroughly. Fabienne and Will, on the other hand, lacked some of the more endearing characteristics, and seemed paler in comparison. I didn't quite feel for them in the way I did for Alex and Estella. Yet I loved the way their stories evolved together, spanning the bridge of time. For me, one judge of a good book is that I feel sorry when it comes to an end, and still think about it afterwards, and this certainly fits the bill. Thoroughly enjoyable and unforgettable. And now, I think I've said enough, because I'm off to buy her other two books!

This has all the marks of a rushed book to get out to market - perhaps a gap of longer would have helped this writer? The story is about a seamstress in Paris during the war (yup, WW2 again and those wicked Nazis...it really has been done and much better before) - and then hops back and forth to the future. The first chapter does not spell out the quest beyond how all her workmates love the heroine and then going back and forth we lose any sense of impetus or drive to get into this story. There may be a story here - but it needs a good pick apart and a sense of pace. Matron gave up half way.

This was a difficult book to navigate and one which required measured reading. The author is a fabulous wordsmith, conjuring up exquisite images, so much so you can almost envision exactly the scene Difficult in that moving from the second world war Paris to present day New York required the threads to jump the distance with you. And while the author provides a stark picture of Paris, I don't think she's done justice to how Estella is perceived, her dialogue, her thought processes. Perhaps the author's copy-editor didn't pick up the nuances but the Paris scenes at that period at the beginning of the war were not exactly accurate. Again and throughout, I couldn't fathom Estella's thinking and in Paris, her stupidity.It was an intricately woven book, fabulous in its concept. With the Kindle, I was able to make notes as I went along and when I re-read it sometime in the future, perhaps I'll enjoy even more the second time around.

4.5 StarsAt first I was completely absorbed in Estella's story and when the story jumped ahead 70 years to Fabienne I was really unhappy as all I really wanted to do was read about Estella and find out just how she had an American father, allowing her to escape ahead of the invasion. I soon got past that as Fabienne sucked me in to.What I particularly liked about this book was the humanness of all the characters. Even though the Wehrmacht were terrifying to Estella she never depersonalised them, although there is (fortunately) little of them in the book you always got the sense that they were people first and foremost and war machines second. In fact, that is true of all the people in the book - nobody is there just to provide one example of human nature, even the horrendous Harry Thaw is more than just his sadism.I would have liked to learn more about Janie and Sam through the book. They are constants in Estella's life and clearly her only support network for much of her life in America and yet we see so little of them. At least she has friends and people to rely on, by contrast her granddaughter, Fabienne, does appear to be truly alone in the world. Although, I can fully understand why, although I enjoyed her story I never really warmed to Fabienne. She comes across as very high maintenance (emotionally speaking) and you can see how this would push people away.Historically there are some liberties taken with events but the depiction of a Paris under occupation is completely heartbreaking. The way it deals with the choices people made was very well done and I like that Estella, whilst denigrating the collaborators, also accepts that for some women this was their only way to survive or for their children to survive. Nice to see the women who made this choice not be made out to be less than human as they so often are.Plot wise the story is well constructed and has a good narrative flow, once you get used to the way we move from Estella to Fabienne and back again. The only thing that bothered me (and caused me to dock half a star) was that the time shifts became entirely predictable and always left either character on a cliffhanger. The little fashion details scattered throughout were little gems (or maybe gold silk roses), although it did remind me of Shirley Conran's Lace in the descriptions of Estella's desires for Stella Designs to provide affordable clothing that was suited to a more modern life.A wonderful tale that does lead you to want to research the Occupation of France and the Resistance. It also reminds you that Dior's New Look would look just as good today as it did then.