A few comments about a book I finished last night, The Shoe Queen by Anna Davis…
Blurb: In the Shoe Queen, author Anna Davis immerses readers in the glitter and excitement of 1920’s bohemian Paris – where one woman’s obsession with shoes leads her into a steamy affair that will make her question what maters most in life.
When English society beauty Genevieve Shelby King spots the most exquisite lace slippers on the feet of her archrival, she covets a pair of her own. But the exclusive designer, Paolo Zachari, denies her request – and no amount of money from her wealthy American husband will change his mind. Soon Genevieve’s desire for a pair of unobtainable shoes develops into an obsession with their elusive creator – threatening her marriage. Zachari awakens her to a passion beyond anything she as ever known, forcing her to confront the emptiness of her elaborately designed life and a secret buried deep in her past.
Opinion: I felt I read the book in two different way at one. On one hand, I was just reading the story, and on the other, I was reading about the fashion of the Jazz Age. The 20’s are not an era I’m too familiar with when it comes to fashion (in fact, I had to check the shoe design trends, for I had only a vague idea of the shoes of that time), so I enjoyed the learning experience.
Paris was in a big role in the book, which is understandable. Paris, and particularly the ideas people had of Paris were important in the years between the two wars, and while I knew of it, I knew of the rivers of Americans and English moving to Paris to experience the ‘Parisian life of arts and bohemian creativity’, I haven’t really payed that much attention to that side of the era. Once again, it was a learning experience. And I always love reading about Paris.
As for the story, I don’t know. I liked the way Davis didn’t tell everything, but left room for the reader to fill in the gaps. She did explore the inner life of her characters, well Genevieve, her husband Robert and her best friend Lulu at least, and gave a good picture of the demons and fears and hopes they were struggling with. During the book, some things seemed to be irrational, but they were explained in the end. But it wasn’t a simplified tying all together -type of solution, but it sort of rearranged the pieces you had, and suddenly you saw the pattern there. You understood them. Bit by bit the pieces fell into place nad you started to see the broken people with their fears and dreams and love.
While there were weaker points in the story, for example the early detailed descriptions of clothing and shoes, Davis got over those. And while with these types of stories you usually guess how it’s going to turn out, with the Shoe Queen you weren’t so interested in the destiny of Genevieve’s marriage, but on what will happen to the characters. What kind of persons are they and how they can handle this?
Grade: It wasn’t perfect, but it kept me reading till 4am, so… 8/10
xoxo,
ii
