This was a slow, methodical read. I loved the characters. I really enjoyed how the author alternated between the two sister (Emilia and Luzia) in the chapters and told the story from their point of view. The historical aspect was interesting and well done. Overall, a great read.
Emilia and Luiza are sisters living with their Aunt Sofia in the scrublands of Brazil. It is a small rustic town. One day Luiza falls from a tree and breaks her arm. With no doctor nearby, the arm is set but remains at a bent angle. This earns her the vicious nickname of "Victrola" by her schoolmates and even adults. Their Aunt is a proficient seamstress and works at teaching them both to become excellent seamstresses as a means of earning money as well as respect. Soon the girls are sewing special clothes for the local "colonel" and his wife.
The two sisters are quite different in personality. Emilia, the elder, loves to look at fashion magazines and dreams of leaving the backwater with some dashing, handsome man. Luiza is more down to earth as she realizes her deformity reviles many people. Her sister Emilia is pretty and gets suitors to call but she ignores them all hoping to escape and go to a big city where she can be "someone".
A chance meeting then leads to Luiza leaving the town with the man known as "The Hawk." Emilia eventually gets her wish and moves to the big city as a well-to-do man's wife. Although their lives diverged, they are still tied in some ways. Brazil is beginning to undergo a change in politics and both girls are forever affected by the outcome.
I enjoyed the story although at one point, I felt it was dragging a bit. But I went ahead and finished it and was glad I did. Here are two women born poor who make a difference each in her own way in history.
The two sisters are quite different in personality. Emilia, the elder, loves to look at fashion magazines and dreams of leaving the backwater with some dashing, handsome man. Luiza is more down to earth as she realizes her deformity reviles many people. Her sister Emilia is pretty and gets suitors to call but she ignores them all hoping to escape and go to a big city where she can be "someone".
A chance meeting then leads to Luiza leaving the town with the man known as "The Hawk." Emilia eventually gets her wish and moves to the big city as a well-to-do man's wife. Although their lives diverged, they are still tied in some ways. Brazil is beginning to undergo a change in politics and both girls are forever affected by the outcome.
I enjoyed the story although at one point, I felt it was dragging a bit. But I went ahead and finished it and was glad I did. Here are two women born poor who make a difference each in her own way in history.
