Book Review: The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna Van Pragg
Book review of: The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna Van Pragg
Published by Ballantine Books, Random House on December 30th
Genres: Fiction, Magical Realism
Pages: 336
Source: complimentary review copy
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Having read and loved Menna van Praag’s novel The House at the End of Hope Street {review here} I had high expectations of The Dress Shop of Dreams. Both books are steeped in magical realism and satisfy my yearning for fairy tales. I collected fairy tales as a child and read them over and over {The recent movie “Into the Woods” was a phenomenal experience for me!} I’ve been accused, quite often, of living with my head in the clouds and being too much of a dreamer. All perfect reasons to immerse myself in Menna van Praag’s novels!
When Cora Sparks parent’s died mysteriously, Cora moved in with Etta, her Grandmother, above Etta’s fabulous dress shop. Cora grows up as logical, a realist and becomes a scientist with a heart closed to love. On the same street as the dress shop is a book store where Walt, a young boy infatuated with Cora, grows up immersed in the stacks. Walt ends up buying the bookstore as an adult {what a dream come true that would be for me!} and Cora burrows deeper and deeper into her lab.
Etta’s sewing needles and expertise at finding the perfect dress for a client is nothing short of magical. A woman can walk into the dress shop without any self-confidence, put on a dress from Etta and then sees herself as beautiful, self-assured and ready to make her own dreams come true. When Etta decides to push things along between Walt and Cora by sewing a tiny heart into Walt’s shirt, chaos ensues.
Normally I enjoy books with several points of view; however, The Dress Shop of Dreams seemed to have a few too many that did nothing to further the plot. The cast of characters are imaginative and real, making this character-driven story a treat.
As a feel-good novel with underlying magic The Dress Shop of Dreams shines. Reading it was like sitting through a Nora Ephron film with copious amounts of popcorn and snowcaps. A super sweet, imaginative love story with hearts all awry and characters who think they know what’s best until life, and a bit of magic, show them otherwise. Recommended to those who enjoy a Nora Ephron film and readers of Sarah Addison Allen.
I’m honored to be a member of the She Reads Blog Network. Five lucky winners will receive the set of She Reads Books of Winter of which includes The Dress Shop of Dreams. ENTER HERE by January 30th, 2015. The complete set includes The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag, The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister, Mercy Snow by Tiffany Baker, and The Good Girl by Mary Kubica.
I received this book for free from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book nor the content of my review.