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The Seamstress

by Frances de Pontes Peebles (Goodreads Author)

3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 · rating details · 1,245 ratings · 304 reviews

As seamstresses, the young sisters Emilia 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.

Emilia, whose knowledge of the world comes from fashion magazines and...more As seamstresses, the young sisters Emilia 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.

Emilia, 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. Emilia 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, Emilia must hide any connection to her increasingly notorious sister. As she learns to navigate the treacherous waters of Brazilian high society, Emilia 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 Emilia vows to keep. And when Luzia's life is threatened, Emilia 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.(less)

Hardcover, 656 pages

Published August 5th 2008 by Harper (first published January 1st 2008)

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The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles

Best historical fiction read in 2009

2nd out of 10 books — 19 voters

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Community Reviews

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Sep 21, 2009 Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Lee by: Wendy

Shelves: buddy-reads, latin-america, 2009-reads, favourites, historical-fiction

This really was an unexpected pleasure. When I started reading, my mental picture of Brazil could not have been more different than what I found in this amazing story. Descriptions of the northern countryside, a hot, dry scrub land, contrast wonderfully with the lush humidity of the regional capital of Recife and parallel the storylines of two sisters separated by unusual circumstances. Both girls raised and trained as seamstresses by their widowed aunt, are eventually drawn in completely differ...more

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Apr 29, 2009 Jeanette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-fiction, central-and-south-america, five-star-fiction, historical-fiction

Extraordinarily vivid. I feel as though I've been away in Brazil for the past week!
No glowing prose, no melodrama, no big statements to make. Just the grand and beautiful telling of a story for its own sake. Emilia and Luzia are raised by their Aunt Sofia in rural northeastern Brazil in the 1920s. Their lives diverge in their late teens when Luzia is abducted by a notorious band of outlaws led by "The Hawk". Shortly thereafter, Emilia marries into high society and moves to the coastal city of Re...more

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Sep 24, 2008 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a MUST read!!! This book is truly an unbelievable tale of two Brazilian sisters and the struggle for women to maintain a sense of self despite drought, revolution, economic hardship, and separation from loved ones in the 1930s. The author wove a tremendous amount of what Brazil was really like in the country and in the city throughout the book so you felt like you were really there. The character development of each of the characters was amazing; I felt like I really knew and had a relat...more

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Jan 03, 2009 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really did enjoy this book...wasn't convinced when I started it, though once I got ging...it was an engaging, enthroalling book 2 sisters in Brazil in the 30s. Definitely a page turner and one I read late into the night. I wasn't sure about the ending, but the more I thought about it...decided it was probably perfect.

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 07, 2011 Chrissie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Chrissie by: Lee Aiken

Shelves: hf, relationships, history, favorites, brazil

Definitely a 5-star book! This was a book of fictions that had the feel of real life. This book is the best of what can be done with the genre historical fiction. You take the facts and weave them into a story that makes them memorable and moving - a truly wonderful story! I loved every bit of this book. It was not too long, it never dragged and I learned a bit of Brazilian history.

27 pages left/ V-E-R-Y E-X-C-I-T-I-N-G

Through 550: Yes, the phrenology movement, the belif in cranium measurements...more

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Nov 20, 2008 Cynthia rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Cynthia by: Book Club

This book was fabulous, it had everything- dynamic characters, interesting setting, wonderful descriptions, terrific plot, compelling themes, and symbolism throughout.

Set in late 1920's to mid 1930's in Brazil during the Green Party revolution, two sisters', both talented seamstresses from a small mountain village, lives change dramatically. Emilia has big dreams to leave her country life for the city, to have a kitchen with tiled floors, a romantic husband, and to wear fashionable clothes. Luiz...more This book was fabulous, it had everything- dynamic characters, interesting setting, wonderful descriptions, terrific plot, compelling themes, and symbolism throughout.

Set in late 1920's to mid 1930's in Brazil during the Green Party revolution, two sisters', both talented seamstresses from a small mountain village, lives change dramatically. Emilia has big dreams to leave her country life for the city, to have a kitchen with tiled floors, a romantic husband, and to wear fashionable clothes. Luiza, whose arm is bent and crippled by an accident, is more realistic. She knows because of her arm, she will never be sought for marriage. She simply wants to be known as something other than the cruel town nickname, Victrola (those phonograph machines with a bent horn). Ordinarily these woman would have stayed where they are, in the simple county town with no prospects but fate stepped in.

The Hawk, the Cangaceiros leader, saw Luiza and something compelled him to want her in his group. Luiza went willingly. She wanted to leave Victrola behind. The cangaceiros roamed the Brazil scrublands and were protectors and providers to some but could also exact punishment on those who betrayed them or dishonored them. Over time, Luiza became, not only The Hawk's wife, but she became known as "the Seamstress", she was respected by the cangaceiros gang, revered by some people but also feared, and she became the best sharp shooter of the group.

Emilia met Degas, a doctor's son visiting her town's colonel's son, Felipe. Both need each other for their own reasons and they marry. Degas takes Emilia to Recife to his family's home. Degas' mom Dona Dulce treats her like crap, the maids treat her like crap, and Society makes fun of her country background. She has the tiled floor, clothes, and a husband but her marriage is in name and appearance only. She has no respect. She does, however, make a great friend, Lindavla and they open an exclusive dress shop filled with Emilia's fasions.

Both sisters are worlds apart but through the newspaper Emilia reads about "The Seamstress" and Luiza reads and sees pictures of Emilia. Both still share a bond and Emilia tries to help Luiza with hidden messages.

Both sisters are trapped like caged birds. Luiza was first trapped as Victrola and she saw the cangerceiro group as a means to escape this cage. Only she became trapped as the Seamstress. Violence bread more violence and she lost control. Emilia was trapped first in the country but then by High Society's and her family's expectations. She wanted to help Luiza, but how can she help her without falling herself? (less)

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Sep 12, 2008 Lara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-harper-collins, favorites

I really cannot rave enough about this book. I loved it. LOVED it. It reminded me a bit of One Hundred Years of Solitude, except that I read that book so long ago that you should cut me some slack if the two aren't similar at all. Which, now that I think of it, they really aren't, because The Seamstress isn't a multi-generational story like that one. So never mind.

I don't want to write too much about the story itself because part of what I loved about it is the way it reveals itself slowly, and...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Katherine rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, historical-fiction

Well-written if overly long, tending toward a slight bloat of historical fact. Though the story is interesting even compelling, it's also dark, tragic, and contains a lot of gruesome, brutal violence.

The writing and the compelling story-telling warrant more than one star but in all honesty I truly did not like this book. Not recommended unless you have a particular interest in bleak Brazilian history and a highly-developed acceptance for overt brutality in the books you read.

I'm a little surpr...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Ann added it

Set in Brazil in the 1920's and 1930's, The Seamstress is about two sisters who each long to escape from their small, backcountry village. As they each find what seems to be their means of escape, their lives diverge, yet they retain strong, though obscure ties.

Emilia marries into the family of a wealthy, highly respected doctor and moves to a coastal city.

Luzia, or Victrola, as she is called, chooses to align herself with the cangaceiros, a viscious gang of bandits who roam the interior, and wi...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Drayton Bird rated it 4 of 5 stars

I nearly didn't read this. Got it out of the library, then thought the cover suggested it might be just sloppy romance.

But it isn't, and I'm glad I read it.

It's the first book I've read (a sad admission) about the cangaceiros of Brasil. It covers the early part of the C20th when the countryside was still run by the Colonels - but landowners who operated rather like medieval barons.

It is indeed romance - but a great deal more than that. The cangaceiros are folk heroes who (depending on what you...more

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Oct 06, 2011 Kasia S. rated it 5 of 5 stars

When the book first arrived I felt disheartened with it's size, at almost 700 pages it's a small mammoth to carry around but once I started reading the fears left me and I couldn't get enough of the syrupy writing dripping of the pages like heaven sent nectar.
The tale of two sisters in 1930's Brazil seems like an old soap opera that wouldn't communicate with many these days but I was wrong. Not only did the characters completely enchant me but I felt deep anger whenever something unpleasant was...more

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Apr 15, 2011 Yvann S rated it 5 of 5 stars

Summary: Emilia and Luzia dos Santos, sisters of humble origins, find their own ways to escape the drudgery of poor village life. Emilia marries well and moves to Recife to enjoy high society, Luzia is abducted by a gang of country bandits. Both sisters discover their capabilities and limitations in surroundings far from their shared past.

I enjoyed this enormously - the setting is very thoroughly evoked and does well to distract you from the rainy, grey London setting. It passed the "would rathe...more Summary: Emilia and Luzia dos Santos, sisters of humble origins, find their own ways to escape the drudgery of poor village life. Emilia marries well and moves to Recife to enjoy high society, Luzia is abducted by a gang of country bandits. Both sisters discover their capabilities and limitations in surroundings far from their shared past.

I enjoyed this enormously - the setting is very thoroughly evoked and does well to distract you from the rainy, grey London setting. It passed the "would rather be sleep-deprived than put this down" test with a score of about 200 pages! (before I finally had to turn the light out...)

The author does well to keep the perspectives of two sisters so separate; Luzia is set up as a villain but then is sympathetic, Emilia was a snob but her desire for fine cloth is tempered when she is disappointed in marriage. The connection between them is never really broken, they find ways to communicate through the newspapers, and they each come to appreciate the other's gifts in later life.

The Brazilian hinterlands are beautifully described - having a troupe of country bandits enables the author to compose odes to the untouched nature:

"After the rains, the caatinga bloomed. Orange flowers, their petals as thin and dry as paper, emerged from the quipa's prinkly rounds. The malva bushes grew as tall as men. Bromeliads released red blooms. Bees swarmed the scrub. When Luzia closed her eyes, their buzzine reminded her of rushing water."

She peppers the novel with untranslated Portuguese/Brazilian, explaining some and not some other, and on the whole, she gets it right. I had a few moments of "I wonder what that means", but mostly I just carried on - and the heavy flavouring just reinforces the exotic setting.

Both sisters are disappointed in their choice of life, but they both make the best of it and are well-respected in their chosen societies. The glamour and social rituals of Emilia's life in the city were beautiful to read; the idea of Old and New families who don't converse; areas of town once Old, now infiltrated by the New; and Emilia's involvement in the suffragette movement and in bringing new fashion to Recife.

Well worth the very heavy 646 pages!(less)

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Apr 05, 2011 Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-stars, historical-fiction, literary-fiction, brazil, latin-america, world-fiction-challenge, 10-best-books-read-in-2010, favorites

I have a hard time writing five star reviews; it can be hard to avoid gushing and to say something that hasn't already been said. But this book deserves the effort, so here goes.

As others have recounted, The Seamstress is about the lives of two Brazilian sisters in the early twentieth century. They're raised together in the highlands of the state of Pernambuco, but early in the book each departs on her separate journey: the younger sister, Luzia, is taken by a group of bandits that happens thro...more I have a hard time writing five star reviews; it can be hard to avoid gushing and to say something that hasn't already been said. But this book deserves the effort, so here goes.

As others have recounted, The Seamstress is about the lives of two Brazilian sisters in the early twentieth century. They're raised together in the highlands of the state of Pernambuco, but early in the book each departs on her separate journey: the younger sister, Luzia, is taken by a group of bandits that happens through the town, leaving the older, Emilia, alone and forced to make a hasty marriage in order to fulfill her dream of living in the city. Chapters alternate between the two for the rest of the book. I found them equally interesting, and they provide an excellent contrast: Emilia lives in the city, and observes its progress and the making of history firsthand, while Luzia remains in the countryside, acquainting readers with its harsh landscape and traditional lifestyle. The thematic implications here are obvious, and the settings are beautifully drawn. I know some reviewers have complained that the book is too long, but the plot is only part of it: without the little character-illuminating moments and the descriptions so vivid I felt as if I was there, this book wouldn't be nearly as good as it is.

The development of the main characters was excellent. I had sympathy for both of the sisters from the very beginning, and found them interesting throughout despite their making some rather difficult decisions. Luzia's development in particular was fascinating: I could tell early on that her story was not going to be romanticized as the girl-kidnapped-by-outlaws usually is, but was still surprised at the (inevitable, in retrospect) direction that it took. Emilia seems to be the more difficult character to like for many readers: she's more conventional, struggling against the traditional roles of women in high society, even while she loves fashion and dressmaking. In some places the author uses major political events and drama to liven up her chapters. But ultimately (and perhaps surprisingly given her character at the beginning of the book) I found her the more admirable of the two.

The flip side is that, while the most important supporting characters in each narrative are also well-developed, the more secondary and minor characters seemed a bit flat, including those who shouldn't have been given the amount of page time they received (Lindalva, Ponta Fina). Still, I loved the nuances of the relationships between the characters. And while writing style, as long as it's competent, is not my first priority in choosing what to read, I can say that the prose quality here is excellent.

The only thing I didn't much like about this book is its divergence from history: for instance, it seems fairly obvious that Celestino Gomes is meant to represent Getulio Vargas, but why change the names at all? It reminded me of Isabel Allende's work in that respect (and a comparison to Allende is a huge compliment, even if refusing to include the real names of historical figures does annoy me in both cases). Also, there's no excuse for not including a glossary at the end of the book; Portuguese words pepper the text, and while most can be understood from context, it's standard practice to include translations and pronounciation help for readers unfamiliar with the language.

Ultimately, I both fully enjoyed and was impressed by this book--an excellent combination. I recommend it to aficionados of both historical and literary fiction. (less)

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Jan 05, 2011 Pamela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wow--what an epic adventure this book is. Two sisters, taught by their aunt to be seamstresses, are separated as young girls. Emilia follows her dream to the city, while Luvia (known also as Victrola because of her misshapen arm) seizes an opportunity to live fully as a woman and follows a bandit (Hawk) and his band of folk heroes into the desert. The novel follows these young women through the turbulent 1920's and 1930's as Brazil struggles with droughts, poliltical, and civil unrest as well as...more

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Nov 19, 2009 Tara rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was a bit of an odd duck for me. I was truly impressed by the knowledge of the history and culture of 1920's/1930's era Brazil that the author presented, but I found it difficult to really connect with the characters. I wasn't especially fond of Emilia or Luzia and I think part of that was from the split perspective nature of the book, wherein it switched from Luzia to Emilia and back again. I felt as though every time I was just warming up to one of them, the book split and went to th...more

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Oct 11, 2009 Tara Chevrestt rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

The first half of this novel was great! I really enjoyed reading about sensible Emilia and the more high strung Luzia. Readers meet the sisters while they are still young and impressionable and being raised by their aunt in 1930s Brazil. Emilia has her head in the clouds and longs for love and a genteel, city life. Luzia considers herself undesirable due to a misshapen arm and as a result, chooses a completely different lifestyle than Emilia does. When some bandits invade the girls' town, they t...more

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Jun 13, 2009 Hilarie rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Seamstress is a good read, and truly an epic in every sense. The book is set in North Eastern Brazil, spanning from 1928 to 1935. The novel tells the story of the Dos Santos sisters, Emilia and Luzia; young women who have been raised in an isolated village located in the interior. The sisters are both talented seamstresses, having been trained by their Aunt since childhood, but they possess very different temperaments. Emilia is beautiful and desires above all else to escape to one of the ci...more The Seamstress is a good read, and truly an epic in every sense. The book is set in North Eastern Brazil, spanning from 1928 to 1935. The novel tells the story of the Dos Santos sisters, Emilia and Luzia; young women who have been raised in an isolated village located in the interior. The sisters are both talented seamstresses, having been trained by their Aunt since childhood, but they possess very different temperaments. Emilia is beautiful and desires above all else to escape to one of the cities, such as Sao Paulo, that she has read about in her Fon Fon fashion magazines. She dreams of being a great lady living in a mansion, far from the dirt floors of her youth. Luzia, whose deformity in the form of a permanently bent arm as the result of a childhood accident, is referred to as Victrola by the village children and adults alike. Her disability has already limited many of the dreams and ambitions that she might have held for her future; perhaps her greatest wish is to escape from the village where that very disability defines everything about her. Of course both sisters do ultimately leave their small village, but not in the way they anticipate. Luzia is taken by a band of outlaws led by the mysterious Hawk, while Emilia marries a man she hardly knows, the wealthy son of a doctor in Recife. Their two lives become increasingly polarized by their very different experiences. Neither finds themselves able to reveal the existence of the other, but always they hold the knowledge of the other close to their hearts.

It was clear that this book was a labor of love. The novel was clearly well-researched, and each phrase seemed carefully and lovingly crafted. I did enjoy the story and the characters. At times, I did find the story dragging a bit, but it quickly picked up. I also found the bond between the sisters to be fascinating. Perhaps this is because I don't have a sister of my own. The character of the Hawk was especially intriguing. He was so enigmatic. I loved that I could never guess what he was going to do next. I do have to admit that I found Luzia's story to be the more interesting, and that I found myself hurrying a bit more over the chapters dealing with Emilia's experiences. Overall, I enjoyed the book, even if it didn't quite live up to my expectations.(less)

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Jan 13, 2011 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a long one to get through. It was good at times but mostly really dense and overdrawn. Based on historical events it's the story of 2 sisters in 1930ish Brazil. Both seamstresses, each ends up living very different lives. One gets caught up with a group of Cangaceiros (social bandits), lead by the "Hawk", as the first and only woman at the time to be a part of such a group she learns how to shoot a gun, participates in raids, and eventually after the Hawk is killed she takes over as the...more

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Mar 21, 2010 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: latin-american, fiction

When I first read the description of this book, I immediately put it on hold at the library. It sounded lush and epic, with the exotically harsh romanticism that I have come to expect from many of the great South American writers. I realize now that I set my expectations too high, because while I had hoped for something that would transport me to a different place and engross me from start to finish, I got something that was fine enough, but never really connected with me on some essential level...more

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Apr 10, 2011 Merty rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

May contain a spoiler:
This book was chosen for our bookclub group. I had never heard of it. And I'm usually really good at knowing about upcoming new books! So how I missed this in 2008 is beyond me. The story sounded interesting about 2 sisters in 1930's Brazil who were seamstresses. Some of our bookgroup members dropped the book and some were not all to pleased with the book, so I was prepared to hate it, lol. I admit, it was hard to get into the book at first, I was dreading the violence, and...more May contain a spoiler:
This book was chosen for our bookclub group. I had never heard of it. And I'm usually really good at knowing about upcoming new books! So how I missed this in 2008 is beyond me. The story sounded interesting about 2 sisters in 1930's Brazil who were seamstresses. Some of our bookgroup members dropped the book and some were not all to pleased with the book, so I was prepared to hate it, lol. I admit, it was hard to get into the book at first, I was dreading the violence, and I still feel that it could have been left out but the author never makes it gory or overly descriptive. I suppose she felt it was necessary to capture that violent period in Brazilian history when the soldiers and the cangarceiros clashed. As I said, it was slow going for me, I was resistant, but then I fell in love with the writing and the book gets really, really good, I just could not put it down! This book is epic, it has so many elements in it. I just loved everything about it, except for Luzia's violence, I just didn't get that other then she had become so frustrated or perhaps this was a result from her brain injury from when she fell from the Mango tree. I took this book with me everywhere (on my kindle thankfully!) to the eye doctor, whenever I had a free moment, I read. But one really has to be in the mood for such a story and no distractions! I wanted and found quiet moments in the day so I could get lost in this book. This book is a historical piece, it has Cangarceiros (bandits), political figures, fashion and etiquette of that time in Brazil, caatinga flora and fauna, the cangaceiros' rituals, natural cures, weapons and clothing. (This from the author in the end of the book), significant historical events such as the revolution of 1930, the drought of 1932, the internment camps that were built, the stock market crash and how it affected Brazil, Hitler's coming to power, women's suffrage, phrenology and
the icky part of decapitating bandits in order to study their heads. But as I said before I never felt that the violence was over the top, the book included themes in regard to sisters, family, saints, dressmaking, planting, cooking, and as the author says in the end it is about the cangaceiros who lived and died the only way they knew how and their victims, who were unfortunate casualties.
There is one part in the book and I wish I had the quote, it is about the road that is being built and how Emilia sees it in a form of stitching, and how if that road had been there when she and Luzia were growing up, how different their lives might have been. Rarely do I want to re-read a book, but this book makes me want to go back to the beginning and start again on Chapter one. The characters totally swept me away. I certainly was not prepared to react this way towards the book, but it was one of the best books I've read in a long time. Oh, if Ms. Peebles comes out with another book, oh my, I can only imagine and hope it will be as good as The Seamstress. What is amazing is that this is her first book, what talent. I never thought this book was long or boring, never, I read it with pleasure and interest. And it was not long enough, I was sad when it ended! Thank you to my friend Mar, as I would not have read/or found it on my own!
For those of you who loved the book, don't forget to check out the author's pictures on her facebook page, the trip that inspired the book. As well as a great interview with the author on a book talk website, just google her name, you'll find it. (less)

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Oct 08, 2011 Sylvia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars. I love epic stories that somehow also maintain a sense of intimacy through the characters. This is a story about two sisters who grew up in a small country town in Brazil during the 1920s and 1930s. Both sisters learn to sew from their aunt, and sewing becomes their livelihood and also a part of who they are. Both sisters leave their small village but their lives go in different directions. One sister, Luzia, leaves with a band of bandits who are sometimes criminals and s...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Gilahk rated it 4 of 5 stars

What a powerful story! There were characters that I thought were real historical figures, only to find out at the end that while some events did happen, the author conjured up all the characters from stories and legends. (I even looked for the names on wikipedia, only when I read the afterword did I understand why I didn't find them).
One annoying thing about the book was the proliferation of untranslated Poruguese words, ones that even Google translate couldn't decipher. There wasn't even a glo...more

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May 28, 2010 Andrea rated it 1 of 5 stars

This is just not my sort of book. I read it ::trying:: to have an open mind since it was for book group. I feel like there were some interesting characters, but this moved soooo slow, I was surprised any editor would allow it to go on and on like it did. It was a 600+ page book, I think it should have been 250 pages at most. It was gruesome and violent, without a purpose it seemed. All the characters had awful lives and were not happy, which totally bugs me.

The one positive thing I saw in this...more

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Aug 05, 2011 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's hard to believe that this is the author's first book. Peebles' saga tells of two Brazilian sisters who share a talent for sewing clothes, but have very different aspirations. Emilia dreams of life in a large city, and does marry a man who gives her entree into the society life of Recife; Luzia dreams of a world where her twisted arm will be ignored, and she achieves that in the world of the cangaceiros, outlaws of the backcountry. Peebles prose is lovely and she conveys 1929-1935 Brazilian...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Lou Ann rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-top-ten

I loved this book. Over 600 pages but didn't even feel like it. It's a story about 2 sisters who live in Brazil, the story starts in the late 1920's. Some books that I read I just get sooo tired of all the description the author is using--you can just tell they are trying too hard. This book had SO MUCH description BUT it was done so well that it didn't bug me at all-in fact it's one of the things I loved about this book. I really felt I was there along side these sisters during their stories. W...more

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Oct 21, 2009 Cecily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My mother-in-law passed this on to get my opinion. She'd read it in a book group and the group, as a whole, loved it, but my mother-in-law hadn't been able to engage with the novel. I would like to have sat in the group discussion to hear the comments of why they loved the book because I agree with my mother-in-law. I tried, but somewhere it didn't connect with me.

The story follows two sisters whose lives diverge in the mountains of Brazil but are still connected in many interesting ways. The de...more

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Apr 12, 2011 Leah Beecher rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just finished this one. It was really excellent. A beautifull written saga about two sisters living in Brazil during the first half the 20th century. Its a long one, but it keeps you interested as the two sisters lives take dramatic turns. One is abducted my bandits, the other marries a rich man simply to escape, not for love. Its really an great book about two women re-inventing themselves in order to survive, and the bonds or sisterhood. The authors writing is beautiful. She educated me on a...more

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Feb 19, 2010 Cynthia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not my usual historical fiction - this takes place in Brazil in the 20's and 30's during their revolution and terrible drought, which affected the whole country. It is the story of 2 orphaned sisters growing up in the poorest area of Brazil. Their aunt, who was also their guardian, trained them to become expert seamstresses.
This book tells the story of each of the girls. Emilia wants the "big city" life, and Luzia is kidnapped and lives her life as an outlaw. Although they have very different li...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Karyl rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, library-reads

I just couldn't finish this book. Maybe it's me and not the book, seeing as it gets such rave reviews from others, but I felt it just dragged along. I couldn't really connect with either Luzia or Emilia, though I had more interest in Emilia than I did her sister. The plot meanders along, and while it's obvious that the author has a great deal of love for her home nation, and did her research thoroughly, there isn't enough action to keep the reader's interest. It is very beautifully written, I ha...more

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Feb 15, 2009 KeTURah rated it 5 of 5 stars

I tried to read this book slowly to languish in it's beautifully written prose, and although I finally had to finish it, it was well worth it. The English is sprinkled with Portuguese, and the words become familiar and natural the more you read. The story is so authentic and so engrossing that I not only expect Brazil to be this way, I feel as if I could know the characters in real life. The women are so realistic that I feel as if I might be acquainted with them in my own life; might know them...more

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