DNF: The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham

The Dressmaker
written by Rosalie Ham
published by Duffy and Snellgrove, 2000

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, iBooks, Book Depository, Goodreads

Did I enjoy this book? Nope! I borrowed this book by accident from the library (doesn’t that happen to everyone???). I saw that it had been made into a movie with some pretty big-name stars, so there’s no way it could be bad, right? Wrong! This book was awful! I couldn’t find a discernible plot, I couldn’t keep any of the characters straight, and I didn’t like any of the characters either. I’m fine with disliking characters if it’s intended, but it wasn’t. This was just a poorly written book with absolutely no plot. I plodded along until the halfway point and then gave up. I’m actually a little mad I devoted the time to get to the halfway point. I should have quit LONG before that!!

 

Would I recommend it? Nope! Pass this one by! If the movie is free on Amazon Prime, I might check it out to see if I can figure out the plot. If I do, I’ll report back!

 

What others have rated this book: According to Goodreads, the average rating for The Dressmaker is 3.41. It looks like a majority of readers gave this book 3 stars. The average rating on Amazon is 3.6. At Barnes & Noble, the average rating is 3.4 stars. Just because I didn’t finish this book doesn’t mean you won’t.

 

About the book – from Goodreads: A darkly satirical novel of love, revenge, and 1950s haute couture—soon to be a major motion picture starring Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth

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.