A darkly satirical novel of love, revenge, and 1950s haute couture—now a major motion picture starring Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth, and Hugo Weaving
After twenty years spent mastering the art of dressmaking at couture houses in Paris, Tilly Dunnage returns to the small Australian town she was banished from as a child. She plans only to check on her ailing mother and leave. But Tilly decides to stay, and though she is still an outcast, her lush, exquisite dresses prove irresistible to the prim women of Dungatar. Through her fashion business, her friendship with Sergeant Farrat—the town’s only policeman, who harbors an unusual passion for fabrics—and a budding romance with Teddy, the local football star whose family is almost as reviled as hers, she finds a measure of grudging acceptance. But as her dresses begin to arouse competition and envy in town, causing old resentments to surface, it becomes clear that Tilly’s mind is set on a darker design: exacting revenge on those who wronged her, in the most spectacular fashion.
Ugh. I have no idea what to say about this book. It's not my thing at all. Hearing the narrator talk about Dungatar and its inhabitants, I kept imagining a lemon meringue pie with maggots under the fluffy golden meringue top. With the exception of Tilly, her mother, Teddy and the sergeant there were no redeeming characters in a book and town brimming with them. They were all sick, twisted, inhumane caricatures, and ultimately that's what kept me listening to the book after the pivotal moment; I had no sympathy to give to any of the characters (barring Tilly), allowing me to detach and distance myself from the narrative.
But the writing is beautiful, and the narration excellent. The narration was melodic, poetic, and always matter-of-fact, which added to the horror of the events as they unfolded.
I can't say this is a bad book at all - I totally understand why people would love it and why they made a movie of it (which I will not be watching). But these types of dark, twisted stories aren't why I read fiction; I want to feel better, or at least thoughtful, after I've finished a book, not as though my soul has been tainted by the experience.
I'm not rating this one - at least not yet - because while I think as a book it merits a high rating, I don't want to imply that I liked the story. I didn't. Neither do I want to low ball the rating and imply the book was sub-standard. Perhaps after I've sat with it a while I can come back and rate it objectively.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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23 November, 2016:
Finished reading
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23 November, 2016:
Reviewed
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Started reading
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23 November, 2016:
Finished reading
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23 November, 2016:
Reviewed