Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
Helpful Score: 3
First Line: A typewriter shattered my destiny.
Sira Quiroga is the daughter of a humble seamstress in Madrid, Spain. From sweeping floors and running errands, Sira grows into an apprenticeship. By the time she's twenty, she's learned her trade and is looking forward to marriage to a government clerk. However, she hasn't learned to resist charismatic men. The father she never knew and a handsome salesman turn her world upside down.
Abandoned in Morocco by the man she loves, the only way Sira can survive is by using her needle. Through hours of hard work and determination, she becomes a respected modiste in Morocco. Catering to the collection of European expatriates trapped there by the war in Spain and the worsening political situation in the rest of Europe lays the groundwork for the next stage in Sira's life. She returns to Madrid, opens an exclusive couturier for Nazi officers' wives, and becomes an undercover agent for the Allies.
This was a very uneven reading experience for me. Its length (624 pages) is not for the weak of heart (or for those with weak wrists). If a story holds my interest, I don't care how long the book is, but this one only held it sporadically.
In many ways, I enjoyed the first section of the book the most. My interest was fully engaged as I learned how Sira grew up, how she fell in love, and how she had to fight hard to make a living after being abandoned in Morocco. The reader's opinion of Sira will make or break this book since she is the narrator. At times I found that her naivete and impulsiveness made me want to slap some sense into her. However, she is honest about how she abandoned a good man for a bad one, and her friendships with Rosalinda and Candelaria as well as her descriptions of starting out in business definitely strengthen the narrative.
But Sira tells us something very important: she is carefully picking and choosing each fact in her story. Some of her choices weaken the book for me. When she becomes couturier for the Nazi officers' wives, it is a case of too much reporting and not enough doing. We're told more about the days the coded messages are delivered and very little about how the information was gathered. It would have added so much to the story to have a scene at the shop when the wives were gathered, relaxed and being served tea, gossiping away, with Sira working-- and listening-- diligently. I wanted to see it happen, not be told about it later.
It also came to the point where the political segments made my eyes glaze over. Sira purposely avoided many areas of Madrid because she didn't want to see what had happened to the city of her birth. There was too much in this book that Sira didn't wish to see, and I didn't appreciate being forced to wear blinders. Moreover, it felt as though Sira kept me at a distance-- as if she didn't really trust me. Granted, being a spy would make a person extremely distrustful, but when that spy is the narrator of a huge novel, distancing the reader can be very off-putting.
When all is said and done, your reaction to the main character of this sweeping historical novel will determine how much you enjoy it. I found much in the book to admire, but in the end, I felt as though Sira had led me down the garden path.
Sira Quiroga is the daughter of a humble seamstress in Madrid, Spain. From sweeping floors and running errands, Sira grows into an apprenticeship. By the time she's twenty, she's learned her trade and is looking forward to marriage to a government clerk. However, she hasn't learned to resist charismatic men. The father she never knew and a handsome salesman turn her world upside down.
Abandoned in Morocco by the man she loves, the only way Sira can survive is by using her needle. Through hours of hard work and determination, she becomes a respected modiste in Morocco. Catering to the collection of European expatriates trapped there by the war in Spain and the worsening political situation in the rest of Europe lays the groundwork for the next stage in Sira's life. She returns to Madrid, opens an exclusive couturier for Nazi officers' wives, and becomes an undercover agent for the Allies.
This was a very uneven reading experience for me. Its length (624 pages) is not for the weak of heart (or for those with weak wrists). If a story holds my interest, I don't care how long the book is, but this one only held it sporadically.
In many ways, I enjoyed the first section of the book the most. My interest was fully engaged as I learned how Sira grew up, how she fell in love, and how she had to fight hard to make a living after being abandoned in Morocco. The reader's opinion of Sira will make or break this book since she is the narrator. At times I found that her naivete and impulsiveness made me want to slap some sense into her. However, she is honest about how she abandoned a good man for a bad one, and her friendships with Rosalinda and Candelaria as well as her descriptions of starting out in business definitely strengthen the narrative.
But Sira tells us something very important: she is carefully picking and choosing each fact in her story. Some of her choices weaken the book for me. When she becomes couturier for the Nazi officers' wives, it is a case of too much reporting and not enough doing. We're told more about the days the coded messages are delivered and very little about how the information was gathered. It would have added so much to the story to have a scene at the shop when the wives were gathered, relaxed and being served tea, gossiping away, with Sira working-- and listening-- diligently. I wanted to see it happen, not be told about it later.
It also came to the point where the political segments made my eyes glaze over. Sira purposely avoided many areas of Madrid because she didn't want to see what had happened to the city of her birth. There was too much in this book that Sira didn't wish to see, and I didn't appreciate being forced to wear blinders. Moreover, it felt as though Sira kept me at a distance-- as if she didn't really trust me. Granted, being a spy would make a person extremely distrustful, but when that spy is the narrator of a huge novel, distancing the reader can be very off-putting.
When all is said and done, your reaction to the main character of this sweeping historical novel will determine how much you enjoy it. I found much in the book to admire, but in the end, I felt as though Sira had led me down the garden path.
Helpful Score: 3
How could I resist a book that starts with A typewriter shattered my destiny? The opening line of María Dueñas debut novel pulled me into the world of Sira Quiroga which spanned Spain and Morocco in the 1930s. Raised by a seamstress single mother, Sira was an apprentice in the same workshop until the said typewriter has her leaving her civil servant fiancé to follow a rogue lover to Morocco. Abandoned in Tangiers, Sira returns to dressmaking to reverse her fortunes in the Spanish Protectorates capital of Tetouan. Attracting important haute couture clients, Sira is recruited to return to Madrid to spy on them for the British intelligence service during the start of WWII.
Although I enjoyed Siras story told in the grand old tradition, the fact that this is Dueñas first novel shows. A professor by day, she has a tendency to list many details. Perhaps they mean something to the original Spanish audience, but I feel that 20% of the copy in this 600-page story could have been safely omitted. It was also unclear what type of story this aims to be. Is it a fictional memoir of a strong, independent woman? A wartime espionage thriller? A grand love story? Up to part IV, I feel it had potential to be all three, but the sentimental, unrealistic ending did not seem to satisfactorily tie up all the loose ends. The Time in Between seemed like a first fitting for what can be a great piece.
Although I enjoyed Siras story told in the grand old tradition, the fact that this is Dueñas first novel shows. A professor by day, she has a tendency to list many details. Perhaps they mean something to the original Spanish audience, but I feel that 20% of the copy in this 600-page story could have been safely omitted. It was also unclear what type of story this aims to be. Is it a fictional memoir of a strong, independent woman? A wartime espionage thriller? A grand love story? Up to part IV, I feel it had potential to be all three, but the sentimental, unrealistic ending did not seem to satisfactorily tie up all the loose ends. The Time in Between seemed like a first fitting for what can be a great piece.
Helpful Score: 2
If life is random, life during wartime must be even more so. This is a full, sweeping novel following a woman who must learn to be strong in order to survive in an area, during a time when wars and rumors of wars seems continual. Duenas has great attention to detail and explanation of the time period and locations.
