I struggled to get through this book. I liked it enough to want to finish but not enough to want to read it. I gave up on it a few times, only to come back and grind through for a while longer. The writing is at times beautiful, at times so determined to be profound that it's meaningless. The setting was the best thing by far, an interesting time and place to spend some reading time, though sometimes bogged down in detailed description that detracted even from this one strength. The main character was entirely unsympathetic for me. Aside from the early scenes when she lost her family, I never felt anything for her. The tone of the whole novel is very emotionally remote, which is appropriate for this first person story about an emotionally remote woman, but it makes it difficult to enjoy reading a dense, long, convoluted book. The story itself is implausible and ridiculous at times, again appropriately for the intended parallels with opera but again making it difficult for me to enjoy. I was relieved to have finished. I'm unlikely to read anything else by this author. ( )

DNF. There are no quotations which makes it difficult to distinguish when people are speaking. This type of writing (no quotation marks) is very difficult for me but I've heard good things if that type of writing style doesn't bother you.

I would've liked it more if it wasn't written in such a distant voice. ( )

This is an absolutely epic book that spans generations of one woman's life. She begins as an orphan and winds up a opera star during the Franco
Prussian war and goes beyond that time. For as much as this book is about her, the narrative is also told through her dresses. It seems like a minor detail, until I caught on about a quarter way through, her dresses are reflective of her status. It was just a fun detail to be on the lookout for.
Opera is a big part of this narrative and since it isn't my forte, reading other reviews helped bring this aspect out for me. Opera fans will notice it quicker than I did.
I will admit there were parts that as I read, I wondered- what just happened? And I wound up a little lost toward the middle. The good news is I rebounded once again toward the end for a satisfying ending to her epic life.
If it were not for the Book of the Month club recommendation, I probably would not have given this book the time of day as it isn't really a genre I go for- historical fiction, but by the end I was glad I read it.
I honestly would only recommend this one for a few people rather than for a larger audience. The writing is fantastic, but it is a book one has to be in the mood for.
I actually would give it 3.5 stars rather than 4. It is good, but it isn't for everybody. ( )

historical fiction (1880s-1910s? Paris; opera singer/prostitute). This took a few chapters to get into, but I enjoyed the lush setting and storytelling. Lots of drama, victories and defeats over many many years of more drama, victories and defeats. ( )