The Dressmaker of Paris follows Rosa through decades of her life from her childhood in the Italian alps to her illustrious career as a dressmaker and designer.

The story is told from Rosa's perspective as she is sharing her life story. This theoretically should make the reader feel closer to Rosa, but she comes off as distant and condescending in her narration.

I generally found Rosa deeply unlikeable. My heart went out to her when she was sexually assaulted and when she described her father's abuse, However, I found her incredibly hard to connect with as a reader.

Rosa completely lost me when when she made an anti-Semitic comment. She said that she had never met a Jew before the professor she lives with in Switzerland and realizes that he is a human. There is certainly something to be said for realizing the similarities you have with those who are different from you, but the way it was phrased was jarring and upsetting to me.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise intrigued me, but I found the actual novel to be a boring slog with a snooty narrator.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I actually enjoyed this book, great storyline and great characters not normally the sort of book I usually read.

What a wonderful book. The story of a country girl who made a fantastic life for herself. However, the journey she travelled to get yhere was full of challenges. This book is so beautifully crafted together - all the places she travelled; all the horrors she faced, all strung together in this gripping book.

This book wasn't at all what I expected, not least because very little of the story is set in Paris. The narrative is written by Rosa and covers some 50 years of her life. One of the pivotal points of the tale occurs in her home village in the Italian Tyrol and this sets Rosa off on a lifelong quest for money and fulfillment. An interesting journey through 3 continents in the mid 20th century with a clever way of splitting up the chapters.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this ebook.

I received an advance copy of, The Dressmaker of Paris, by Georgia Kaufmann. This was an ok book. A story about how a dressmaker in Paris, came to be, her life story.

I think I felt every emotion reading this book, it truly felt like a journey of discovery.
Told directly through the memories of the main character, Rosa, as she is reflecting back on her life before a major event, you see how items of every day life transform in to memories, lessons and anecdotes from her past leading up to the present day. This book explores a young girl growing up in Europe during WW2 and how the events there influence her life in so many directions. It was gripping to read the decades influence her life, her loves, her tragedies, her heartbreaks, but also her accomplishments.
At times it was hard to remember how young Rosa was at the beginning of her story, I mistakenly felt quite shocked and saddened by her decisions but I then realised she was traumatised and so young, and this burden was weighing her heavily throughout the main bulk of this book, it was only towards the end I felt I could see her and then I understood. I was so moved by the ending of this tale, such a wonderful story.