The seamstress

This could have been a little shorter, but I enjoyed the stories of sisters Luzia and Emilia and the divergent paths life had in store for them, set against the backdrop of Brazil in the 1920s and 1930s. It was a complex interwoven story told from both sisters' perspectives, with alternating sections, and I would get sucked into one of their lives and then it would switch ... and whichever section I happened to be reading at the time, that sister was my favorite. It did get a little bogged down and repetitive in the middle, but it picked up a LOT in the last 100 pages, which were so action-packed and wonderful.

de Pontes Peebles' writing was descriptive but not flowery, and definitely gives you a specific time-and-place feel that I had not experienced before, seeing the “big city” of Recife through Emilia's country eyes, and shuffling through the drought-blighted caatinga with Luzia and the cangaceiros. It was very evocative.

The author's note at the end indicated that a lot of the history was simplified some for the sake of the narrative, but as someone who had no knowledge of early 20th-century Brazilian history, I found it quite interesting and informative anyway.

I might have more thoughts but they're a little jumble-y, so maybe I'll add to this later. 3.5 stars.