Courageous, powerful and straightforward. The book’s main character, Rosa Kusstatcher, is an endearing character from page one. As a first-person narrator, she speaks to us from the present, 1991, and tells us that nerves are running high. That day she will meet a very important person, someone she affectionately addresses as ‘Ma chère’. At the end of the book it will become clear who makes his or her appearance. What follows is a long introduction to a woman who is scarred by her past. The book reads like one long flashback that starts in the Second World War, when Rosa is only sixteen years old and lives with her parents and sister in the Italian Alps. An area that falls into the hands of the Germans.
A miserable start
Where one family tries to curry favor with the sergeant, the despicable and obese one sir Schleiss, Rosa, her sister and mother prefer to keep the occupier far away. But due to her own drinking organ of a father, Rosa ends up in the hands of the terrible Schleiss and becomes pregnant.
The always friendly postman sir Maier and the endearing soldier Thomas devise a plan to lure Rosa away from the mountains, so that she can start a new life with one of Thomas’ professors in Switzerland: professor doctor Goldfarb. The traumatized Jewish professor offers her and her illegitimate child, a blond boy named Laurin (named after the postman), everything they need. Yet it is not enough for young Rosa: she wants to start her own sewing studio and has set her sights on Paris.
Fate as a traveling companion
In Paris, Rosa ends up working with the great fashion designer Christian Dior, in whose studio she designs the most beautiful creations. She does not go unnoticed. Not only is she Dior’s darling, ‘le grand maître de la mode’, many other men also enjoy relaxing in her company. One man in particular, the charming Charles, quickly seeks her hand. He is a man who appears to be troubled and broken by the horrors of war. His wife and children have been taken from him and he no longer wants to live in a place that reminds him of the horrors of the Holocaust.
A new life awaits the loving couple in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The time Rosa spends in Paris is unfortunately short-lived. It would have been interesting if the reader could have enjoyed more – albeit very unlikely – encounters with the greats of fashion, such as Chanel (who is mentioned casually). Most chapters are devoted to the time in Brazil, which also raises the question why the title refers to the tailor of Paris…
Despite the fact that Rosa’s reputation grows into world fame, fate follows her. Although there is certainly one big bright spot in her life: her housekeeper Graça is a great support for Rosa in difficult times. An unexpected friendship unfolds as Rosa begins to care more and more about her help around the house. All in all, the book covers many major themes: love, war, betrayal, trauma, and therefore also friendship.
Wrong guy
Due to circumstances, Rosa eventually ends up in New York and falls into the hands of downright assholes. Not all her choices are equally logical and sometimes downright annoying. No matter how strong she is, the presence of just one bad guy can seriously shake her status and self-image. Her obligingness and humility towards some guys clearly show that her relationship with men became quite disturbed in her teenage years. Some characters in the book are blood-pulling and the way Rosa acts often leaves you extremely disappointed. Especially when she enters into a very remarkable contract with a man who wants to put his own affairs in order and sees her as a means to achieve his goals.
Throughout the story you see that Rosa becomes more and more businesslike with every poignant event that occurs in her life. Her intuition makes way for reason, reason. Driven by her intense sadness, she eliminates her feelings one by one, until she makes decisions almost like a robot. Something that even those close to her blame her in the book. An unexpected confrontation with her past shows that she can only switch off her feelings to a certain extent. All pent-up emotions come out at once when she is confronted with secrets from her past in the Alps.
Great appeal
For fans of Lucina Riley, Corina Bomann and Anne Jacobs, it may feel like you’ve heard of this story before. Just like in the novels of these writers, we follow a young woman who, with her brave attitude, manages to find her way back up after she has fallen far into a deep valley. In addition, the book interweaves romance with history and we are presented with a plot where you say ‘you’ to. All this is packed in a very smooth writing style and divided into an ingenious chapter division, where each chapter is referred to by a different object: from nail polish to jewelry and cosmetics. All necessities to prepare 63-year-old Rosa for her meeting with a very dearly loved person.
As with other books from this segment (historical fictional novel), one can be annoyed or daydreamed by the romanticized situations and dramatic choices of the main character. If you want to be served a realistic story, this is not the right place for you. But it is a book that fans of this genre cannot put down; it almost seems to shout to you from the bedside table. Tip: start it at a time when your agenda doesn’t require anything of you, so that you can read it in one go.
