"Set in Sardinia at the turn of 20th-century, this marvel about a seamstress is finely threaded with a spirit of independence, and truths about class, female ingenuity, love, and survival."
Radiant with charm and romance, and reeling with tragedy and emotional truths, Bianca Pitzorno’s The Seamstress of Sardinia is an absorbing, characterful joy from start to finish.Set in Sardinia at the dawn of the 20th-century, the storytelling and writing are gorgeous (mention must be made of the novel’s translator, Brigid Maher) as it relates the tumultuous life of a talented sartina (seamstress). Though richly evocative of its historic setting, the novel has remarkable present-day resonance in its portrayal of class and wealth inequalities, and how the lives of women are dictated by men. It’s an extraordinary novel of resilience.
Seamlessly weaving accounts of the sartina-narrator’s upbringing in the hands of her elderly Nonna with episodes from throughout her life, we discover how a talented young seamstress from humble origins comes to work for wealthy families and individuals. Each set of characters reveal much about class and the status of women, from the flamboyant American journalist who commissions a special corset with secret pockets, to the noblewomen who employ the sartina to conceal their true financial status.
Through the sartina’s stories, we see how women variously find ways to transcend self-serving, controlling, mean-spirited men, and witness how a community pulls together as gossiping vipers in the nest seek to wreak unrest, while the wealthy cruelly conspire to maintain their status quo. Above all, though, The Seamstress of Sardinia throngs with the seamstress’ spirit of independence, an impulse learned from her Nonna, the very same woman who sagely declared, “We poor people need to help each other out… because if we wait for the rich to come to our aid in times of need, we’ll be in trouble.”
Laying bare human nature at its worst and best, this novel pulses with tragedy, love, resilience, respect and hope.
Belong to a book club? Read our discussion questions about The Seamstress of Sardinia.
| Primary Genre | General Fiction |
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