The seamstress of Sardinia : a novel / Bianca Pitzorno ; [English translation by Brigid Maher].
Record details
- ISBN: 9780063271692
- ISBN: 0063271699
- Physical Description: 287 pages ; 21 cm
- Edition: First U.S. edition.
- Publisher: New York : Harper Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2022.
Content descriptions
General Note: | Originally published as Il sogno della macchina da cucire by Bompiani, Giunti Editore S.p.A, 2018. |
Language Note: | Translated from Italian. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Women dressmakers > Fiction. Social classes > Fiction. Interpersonal relations > Fiction. Sardinia (Italy) > Fiction. Italy > 19th century > Fiction. |
Genre: | Historical fiction. |
Available copies
- 8 of 8 copies available at Missouri Evergreen. (Show)
- 2 of 2 copies available at Stone County.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 8 total copies.
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stone County-Crane | F PIT (Text) | 31358000559117 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
Stone County-Galena | F PIT (Text) | 31358000559158 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
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Publishers Weekly Review
The Seamstress of Sardinia : A Novel
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Pitzorno's sparkling English-language debut follows a poor Sardinian orphan girl's coming-of-age as she becomes a seamstress, opera lover, and independent young woman. At five, in 1900, the unnamed narrator loses her parents in a cholera epidemic. She's taken in by her grandmother, Nonna, a seamstress who teaches her to sew. By age seven, the girl is helping with the work, and well-to-do brides teach her to read and offer her novels, periodicals, and opera libretti in exchange for sewing their trousseaux and layettes. Nonna dies when the narrator is 16, and she manages to sidestep the pitfalls awaiting young women of the lower classes thanks to her sewing skills and literacy. Though finding work is sometimes a struggle, she survives the lean times with her dignity intact and catches operas from the nosebleed seats. Independent women--including a bicycle-riding American journalist and the beneficent, globe-trotting Marchesina Ester--provide moral and financial support. A tantalizing suitor appears, but the narrator's problems are resolved more through courage, self-sacrifice, and honesty than through love or money. Minutely described period clothing and memorable characters conveyed via Maher's seamless translation add to the charm. This sumptuous costume drama has a great deal of heart. Agent: David Forrer, InkWell Management. (Dec.)
BookList Review
The Seamstress of Sardinia : A Novel
Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Before the advent of mass-produced clothing, seamstresses known as sartinas were paid by the day to make (and make over) linens and other clothing at the homes of bourgeois Italian families. Inspired by stories, letters, and newspaper clippings from her sartina grandmother, prolific Italian author Pitzorno's first American release follows a young sartina making her way in early-twentieth-century Sardinia. By learning a trade rather than going into domestic service, she hopes to maintain her independence and avoid the fate of women like her cousin Ofelia, forced into a life of prostitution, and the tragic heroines of the novels and operas she loves. When the young grandson of a wealthy family proposes marriage, these cautionary tales aren't enough to protect her from a scandal of her own, but the independent women in her life, including an expatriate American journalist and art critic and a poor washerwoman raising a young daughter, help her to rise above her circumstances. This feminist fairy tale is sure to be a book-club favorite and will appeal to fans of Laura Esquivel, Adriana Trigiani, and Elena Ferrante.
Library Journal Review
The Seamstress of Sardinia : A Novel
Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Italian author Pitzorno makes her U.S. debut with this novel. At the end of the 19th century, only two members of a Sardinian family survive a cholera epidemic: Nonna and her young granddaughter. As the girl grows up, Nonna gives her lessons on being a sartina (a seamstress hired by the day), encompassing both sewing techniques and how to avoid trouble with the upper classes who employ them. A good student, her granddaughter (the novel's unnamed protagonist) employs Nonna's wise advice to navigate difficult decisions (how to save a friend; how to keep one's word; whether to sacrifice another to clear one's own name). The protagonist tells the story from her point of view in self-contained but connected episodic and suspenseful dramas, making readers into trusted confidants. Subtle emotions build connections but don't obscure the matter-of-fact ways in which characters respond to tough issues, as Nonna says that big emotions are a privilege of the wealthy. Small descriptive details build an understanding of Sardinia at the turn of the century, creating a fascinating backdrop and helpfully explaining the characters' actions and reactions. VERDICT Will be a hit with readers seeking a historical novel with a protagonist to root for: a strong young woman who hopes to succeed despite having few advantages.--Stacey Hayman