Allison Pittman has written a fabulous work of historical fiction set during the French Revolution, in which she uniquely portrays the revolution from the years leading up to and during the event, and from both inside Paris and in the outlying French countryside.
I had to wait a few days to write this review. I had to take
it in—the story, the bigness, the voices of the characters. This ambitious novel is what I would classify as real literature, told from
the points of view of cousins, one in first person, one in third. The first-person point
of view almost prevented me from picking up the book, not because I’m against
first person, it’s just not my favorite. HOWEVER, Ms. Pittman not only wrote the
first-person voice beautifully, she moved seamlessly between the first and third
character, giving a whole new depth of perspective to the story.
I also loved that all the characters are flawed, some in big
obvious ways, others more subtly, yet even the subtle flaws have huge
impact on their lives. They are human. So human in fact, that this is only the
second story in a long time to make me cry.
People, it's SO GOOD.
The Seamstress is based upon a minor character in Charles
Dickens A Tale of Two Cities. I believe Mr. Dickens would be pleased to be
associated with Ms. Pittman’s work. I think it will end up at the end of 2019 as one of my favorite books of the year.
As of the date of this review, it's on mark-down sale on Amazon.
(I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, which I am happy to give.)
