Product Description

As seamstresses, the young sisters EmÍlia and Luzia dos Santos know how to cut, how to mend, and how to conceal. These are useful skills in the lawless backcountry of Brazil, where ruthless land barons called "colonels" feud with bands of outlaw cangaceiros, trapping innocent residents in the cross fire.

EmÍlia, whose knowledge of the world comes from fashion magazines and romance novels, dreams of falling in love with a gentleman and escaping to a big city.

Luzia also longs to escape their little town, where residents view her with suspicion and pity. Scarred by a childhood accident that left her with a deformed arm, the quick-tempered Luzia finds her escape in sewing and in secret prayers to the saints she believes once saved her life.

But when Luzia is abducted by a group of cangaceiros led by the infamous Hawk, the sisters' quiet lives diverge in ways they never imagined. EmÍlia stumbles into marriage with Degas Coelho, the son of a doctor whose wealth is rivaled only by his political power.

She moves to the sprawling seaside city of Recife, where the glamour of her new life is soon overshadowed by heartache and loneliness. Luzia, forced to trek through scrubland and endure a nomadic existence, proves her determination to survive and begins to see the cangaceiros as comrades, not criminals.

In Recife, EmÍlia must hide any connection to her increasingly notorious sister. As she learns to navigate the treacherous waters of Brazilian high society, EmÍlia sees the country split apart after a bitter presidential election. Political feuds extend to the countryside, where Luzia and the Hawk are forced to make unexpected alliances and endure betrayals that threaten to break the cangaceiros apart. But Luzia will overcome time and distance to entrust her sister with a great secret—one EmÍlia vows to keep. And when Luzia's life is threatened, EmÍlia will risk everything to save her.

An enthralling novel of love and courage, loyalty and adventure, that brings to life a faraway time and place, The Seamstress is impeccably drawn, rich in depth and vision, and heralds the arrival of a supremely talented new writer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #533021 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-01
• Released on: 2008-08-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 656 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060738877
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
This lavishly detailed if overlong debut novel set in 1920s and '30s Brazil follows two sisters who share excellent sewing skills, but take divergent paths into adulthood. Crippled by a childhood accident and mocked for her deformities, Luzia is considered unmarriageable. So after a bandit kidnaps her, she realizes that marrying the outlaw leader may be her only chance at independence and happiness. Beautiful Emília, yearning for the refinements of the big city, spurns her many rural suitors, but—reeling from her sister's abduction and her aunt's subsequent death—enters a disastrous marriage with a wealthy, suave stranger who has plenty of untoward secrets and a mother who treats Emília like dirt. The sisters' paths collide after Luzia, now mythologized as a vicious criminal known as the Seamstress, becomes targeted by Emília's criminologist father-in-law, unaware of the two women's connection. Though a good number of passages could have been left on the cutting-room floor, the leisurely pace and attention to detail immerse the reader in both gilded halls and unsavory bandit camps. (Aug.)
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From Booklist
*Starred Review* Two orphaned sisters grow up in a small town in northeastern Brazil. Emilia, the elder, reads fashion magazines and dreams of a life of refinement. Luzia, the younger, is partially crippled, and wilder. Both are taught to sew by their aunt Sofia, and later they put their skills to very different uses. Emilia impulsively marries the son of a wealthy doctor and escapes to Recife, where her dressmaking talents earn her an atelier and grudging acceptance by the upper crust. Luzia is carried off by the bandit Hawk and his cangaceiros, who roam the scrubland in search of money and food, and she gains notoriety as a female outlaw called “the Seamstress.” Set during the 1930s, when Brazil was beset by political instability and natural disaster, the narrative weaves back and forth between Luzia’s brutal life, accounts of which Emilia sometimes reads in the newspapers, and Emilia’s comfortable but empty existence, which Luzia sees depicted in out-of-date society pages. Though it’s overlong, this impressive first novel seduces with its sweeping story, strong characterization, and extraordinarily vivid detail. A good read-alike for fans of Isabel Allende. --Mary Ellen Quinn

Review
"THE SEAMSTRESS is a gripping portrait of the lives of two sisters caught in the political unbalance of a country at a crossroads. Bittersweet, beautifully written, this sweeping saga is as impossible to put down as it is to forget." -- Aryn Kyle, author of THE GOD OF ANIMALS

"This impressive debut novel seduces with its sweeping story, strong characterization, and extraordinarily vivid detail. A good read-alike for fans of Isabel Allende." -- Booklist (starred review)

Customer Reviews

Exciting Debut Historical Novel!
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.

Rich, deep read!
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

A good book deserves a detailed review!
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.