Most Helpful Customer Reviews
132 of 137 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, joyful read, 1 Nov 2011
This review is from: The Dress (Kindle Edition)
Simply put - I loved this book. I downloaded it on my Kindle as an unknown quantity but was persuaded by the reviews and my impression of the free first chapter sample. Also the price cannot be beaten, where else can you get hours of entertainment and enjoyment for so little money? The story focuses on Ella and her mother Fabbia, their move to York and the reaction of the local community. The beautiful descriptions of the delicate vintage clothes made me want to rush out shopping, the only thing that stopped me was the engaging story of Ella and her mysterious, glam mother. Immediately on finishing this book (in one sitting) I downloaded Sophie Nicholls' other book - Ruby Slippers. I recommend taking a punt on The Dress even if you are unsure. I am very glad I did.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A pleasant read, 18 Nov 2011
This review is from: The Dress (Kindle Edition)
This is an unusual book, and I kept changing my mind about it. The beginning was quite slow, and it took me some time to get into the story. I then read the second half very fast. I disliked the increase in drama as the book went on, but the ending charmed me again. The story focuses primarily on the attempts of Fabbia Moreno and her daughter Ella to build a new life in York. I love the city of York, so I enjoyed that element of the setting. Fabbia has a number of secrets which are hinted at throughout the book, but Ella has been kept in the dark about her mother's true past and some of her current habits, and she is anxious to know the truth. The parts that interested me the most were Fabbia's workings with "words" and her vintage clothes; The Signals; the tarot cards and her past in her true home country... unfortunately much of this was not developed particularly thoroughly and felt like a sideline to the much more well-travelled plot of outsiders trying to fit in. That said, I could sympathise in particular with Ella; we've all felt like an outsider at times and her struggle to find a place for herself was well portrayed. Nicholls' writing style is lovely, very smooth and easy to read. Her characters are imaginative and well presented and the story reached a pleasant end, even if some of the more interesting elements of the plot remained unresolved. I understand there will be another, connected story however, so perhaps we may be given more development of these plot points in future. I give it 3.5 stars overall, and I do think I will be investigating the next book when it appears.
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51 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If Chocolat had been set in York..., 27 Sep 2011
This review is from: The Dress (Kindle Edition)
It's difficult to write a review of this book without using the same sewing and dress-making metaphors that are richly sprinkled throughout The Dress but I'll have a go ... it's a book where the story and the characters mysteriously and slowly unravel and reveal themselves as you turn each page. It is a thoughtful, poetic and heartwarming (yet also gritty and occasionally shocking) account of a mother and daughter who are in exile from their homeland, from their own identities and, at times, from each other. For me it felt like a Yorkshire version of Chocolat (that judgement is based on having seen the film of Chocolat rather than the book, which I haven't read) ... and I mean that in a good way! Probably the best way for me to describe the book is in the words of one of the central characters, Ella, from the book's opening pages: "The story that I'm about to tell you is not so simple. It has complicated seams and concealed fastenings. It has deep pockets and interfacings that won't sit quite true." (additional note: the page count for this book on my phone is 3000+ pages - definitely a book to slowly savour rather than to devour in one sitting, which is what I did with Sophie's previous book ' Ruby Slippers')
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