
The Designer
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Narrated by:
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Saskia Maarleveld
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By:
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Marius Gabriel
In 1944, newly married Copper Reilly arrives in Paris soon after the liberation. While the city celebrates its freedom, she's stuck in the prison of an unhappy marriage. When her husband commits one betrayal too many, Copper demands a separation.
Alone in Paris, she finds an unlikely new friend: an obscure, middle-aged designer from the back rooms of a decaying fashion house whose timid nature and reluctance for fame clash with the bold brilliance of his designs. His name is Christian Dior.
Realising his genius, Copper urges Dior to strike out on his own, helping to pull him away from his insecurities and towards stardom. With just a camera and a typewriter, she takes her own advice and ventures into the wild and colourful world of fashion journalism.
Soon Copper finds herself torn between two very different suitors, questioning who she is and what she truly wants. As the city rebuilds and opulence returns, can Copper make a new, love-filled life for herself?
©2017 Marius Gabriel Cipolla (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...




















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Copper Is A Feminist Before It Was Cool—1944!
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I had never listened to Ms Maarleveld before and found her performance exceptional. I will look for more books she performs in the future. I don't speak French, but found her pronunciation and accent to be authentic.
Great listen!
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*Overt sexual abuse- Copper, the protagonist, is repeatedly subject to attention from another female character that, were it coming from a male character, would qualify as sexual assault. Somehow, the reader is supposed to accept this character as an embodiment of one of two legitimate paths for Copper to take (ambiguous sexuality and a bohemian lifestyle vs. heterosexuality and a traditional lifestyle), yet I can't imagine any woman being comfortable with or turned on by the actions of the female lover in this story. Copper's reactions read like a clueless man speculating about how a woman would respond to another smelly, unwashed woman making unwanted sexual advances toward her, instead of how a woman would actually think/respond
*Overly sympathetic portrayal of Nazi collaborators/overly simplified portrayal of those trying to root out Nazi collaborators- I get that after war the victors can be over-zealous in rooting out collaborators, and one small good point for this book was the harrowing depiction early on of the suffering a woman who had a child with a German soldier was forced to go through. That being said, the Nazis were, well, the Nazis, yet the author presents those who entertained or collaborated with them in a relatively positive light, and those who try to root them out are presented almost to a one as boors
*Unlikable/Unrelatable and stereotypical main character- Copper adheres to the stereotypical trope of a young, beautiful yet tomboyish woman who somehow, despite being slim, pretty, striking, etc., has no idea how beautiful she is, yet still manages to spread enlightenment everywhere she goes. She inspires Christian Dior to create clothes for a new silhouette, drives those around her crazy with passion for her, and yet somehow has no idea why. She is also pretty annoying in that she does not seem to be able to stand up for herself. Overall she reads like a woman written by a man, which I guess she is.
To be fair, there were a couple of high points for this book. The author did a good job of setting the scene, and one could really picture Paris at the end of the war. The fashion history was also fascinating, including in particular the history of Christian Dior's sister, who was imprisoned and tortured at Ravensbruck, and story of the Theatre de la Mode. Narration was good and the reader did a credible French accent that was not over the top.
Frustrating, unrealistic
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Refreshing
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Enjoyed story
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Good Read!
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Romance
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I liked it a lot. It was a sad, fun, simple story of the past, and I wonder how much truth is in it...
Fashion
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Breathtaking, Captivating, and we'll written.
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Enjoyed the narrator.
Copper came to Paris with her husband and did not know that he was cheating on her. She took in a room mate not knowing she was a junkie. She rode on Diors coat tails not knowing his community of people were gay. She was fascinated by the lesbian, Suzie, until she realized she did not want to be gay and owned by Suzie. She became engaged to a Russian but did not know that she did not want to be married until she was on the steps of the church on the wedding day. I gave up. I no longer cared about Copper and her historical story.
She just did not know.
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