The Gown

I'll be honest. I've had this book since December, as I received it as part of my book club being chosen by Harper Collins during 2018 as one of the clubs that receives monthly books to review. It was one of the generous ‘extra' books we received, so it wasn't lined up for one of our monthly discussions, but now I really wish it had been. For some reason, I think the cover doesn't pull in a reader, but oh my the story does. (I wish the cover had been a close up of the embroidery of the gown.)
What a great book! I found myself completely drawn into the characters and journeys of the three women in the story - one a British woman whose story begins right after WWII, the second a Jewish/French woman who had survived the war during the same time frame, and the third a granddaughter of one who is Canadian and sets out to learn more about her grandmother.
The story alternates between viewpoints, but I didn't get whiplash, as can happen sometimes. I found myself anxious to find out what happened next, and was hoping for good things for the characters.
Great story - perfect one to get lost in over a few days on vacation this summer!

I think this could have been a 4 star read, but the rape scene feels both tonally out of place and unnecessary to reach the end goal of giving Ann a reason to leave her old life behind and get us to present day Heather.

Miriam is my stand out character for sure. I think I could have loved Ann just as much, but we get to see so little of her after a time jump, and I know this is purposeful, the point of the story is to go on this journey of learning about Ann as Heather does, but I wanted more.

Otherwise, this is a cozy, heartwarming historical fiction that gives a fresh angle of a much written-about historical event. I really wanted to suggest this one to my grandma, but I am hesitant now I know about the rape scene. We'll see.