The Collection

This is a warm bath of a book, a well told story that immerses the reader in another time. My favorite aspect of the book, though, is the skill and complexity with which it addresses seamstress Isabelle Varlet's love of her work. The reader sees how it carries her through the ups and downs of her life. But at the same time the workplace isn't idealized. To the contrary, the challenges of Isabelle's pursuing the work she loves within a difficult workplace run by quite a difficult boss are convincingly delineated. All in all, a great and satisfying read.

You don't need to be a fashionista or a seamstress, or even know what a gusset is, to love The Collection. This novel is really about the intense joy of creativity, about making beauty in the face of whatever life throws at you. For Isabelle Varlet and Coco Chanel the medium is women's clothing, but theirs are the same struggles any artist faces-- to realize a vision and have the world acknowledge it. I loved the contrasting characters of Isabelle Varlet and Coco Chanel-- Isabelle is that rare "good" fictional character who isn't the least bit boring and Coco is of course completely magnetizing. I also loved wandering with Diliberto through 1920s Paris, from dingy workrooms to aristocratic drawing rooms. It is very hard to write historical fiction that comes to life-- the Collection succeeds brilliantly.

I believe the author captured the essence of Chanel's stingent personality through the character of the seamstress.