The Seamstress: A Novel - Hardcover

Peebles, Frances De Pontes

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060738871 ISBN 13: 9780060738877

Publisher: Harper, 2008

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

Frances de Pontes Peebles's short stories have appeared in Indiana Review, Zoetrope: All-Story, and the collection O. Henry Prize Stories, 2005. Born in Pernambuco, Brazil, she is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She divides her time between Brazil and Miami.

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

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0060738871
• ISBN 13: 9780060738877
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 656