Visit the Time In Between

The Time In Between by Maria Duenas chronicles the life of Sira Quiroga.  This novel was translated to English and was a hit in both the United States and overseas in Europe.

Synopsis:

Sira has known nothing but dressmaking all her life.  She has worked in the workshop where her mother works.   Her mother and Dona Manuela the owner have taught her everything they know on the subject of dressmaking.  Once she is grown life takes a different turn and she  follows her lover across the Mediterranean to Morocco and the Spanish colony.  They live the high life until one morning Sira is left with nothing.  Once she has been discovered with the debt by the police she has to deal with the consequences of her actions.  Sira decides to remake herself into a courtier dressmaker with the help of some friends.  What could this mean for the future?  Will she be able to trust men in the future?  Will she flourish as a dressmaker?

My Thoughts:

I initially saw this novel at Barnes and Noble while  at a signing.  I love a good historical fiction novel.  When you open up the cover to read the summary of the novel most of the story is given away in the summary.  I was disappointed because I felt that it revealed much of the story.  When I read this book by page 130 I had covered what the summary discussed.  The question became what is the novel about?  Would I like the rest of it?

Unfortunately the answer for me is not really.  I would recommend listening to the novel as an audiobook.  This novel is 610 pages. While this may not mean much to some, the pages did not keep me interested.

I did like the part of the novel that focused on World War 2.  Sira has an interesting job during this time.   I did find other parts interesting as well.

Rating:

3/5

Please visit Maria on her Facebook page  and her website.