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The Seamstress: A Novel

Frances De Pontes Peebles
Harper (2008)
ISBN 9780060738877
Reviewed by Jeneke Lesak for RebeccasReads (3/09)

Frances de Pontes Peebles takes us on an extraordinary journey to Brazil in the 1930’s through the eyes of two orphaned sisters in her profound debut novel “The Seamstress.”  Making a living as seamstresses in their isolated mountain town, events unfold that bring these sisters in the middle of political turmoil.  There is Luzia, stubborn and strong, with a deformed arm as a result of a childhood accident.  Then, there is Emilia, quiet and patient, who desires nothing more than to escape the country life and move to the city where she can live out her dream sewing and wearing her modern fashions.  When a group of cangaceiros (bandits) kidnaps Luzia, she becomes one of them, known as the infamous “Seamstress,” with an excellent shot and no mercy.  Emilia achieves her dream of living in the city when she marries into elite society.  She soon realizes the city life is not as glamorous as it seemed in those magazines she pored over as a child. 

Emilia finds herself living in a world of secrecy, unable to speak of her background for fear of what may happen if anyone were to discover her close relation to the Seamstress.  However, she takes desperate measures to help Luzia, using her social status as leverage, to prevent harm from coming her way.  These two sisters are caught in an entanglement of secrets, power, and dependence, but always bound by the loyalty they hold for one another.

De Pontes Peebles writes with incredible authority in the matters of Brazilian political history to those of life in the scrub.  Refreshing and satisfying, this novel is rich with decadent detail.  You can taste the sour manioc flour, you can feel the texture of a finely embroidered cloth, and you can envision with a clear eye the misery of drought and the treachery of those once thought to be trustworthy.  De Pontes Peebles consistently weaves seamstress language and imagery throughout the novel: “Troops nicknamed the Bergmann ‘the better Seamstress’ because when it fired there was no loud pop.  Instead there was a continuous shudder, like that of a Singer sewing machine, and the bullets made dozens of perfect holes in everything—walls, trees, men—as if pricking them over and over with a needle.”

I emphatically, enthusiastically recommend this novel.  It is an incredible work of historical fiction and a great example of the empowerment of women, with the theme of familial loyalty at its core.  Just a warning: if you pick up this book (and it’s a long one), you will not be able to put it down until it is finished! 

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