Book Review: The Corset Maker

The Corset Maker by Annette Libeskind Berkovitz

⭐️⭐️💫2.5/5 Star Rating

The Summary:

In Warsaw, Poland, the young Rifka Berg, raised in an ultra Orthodox home, asks her father why girls don’t have bar mitzvahs. Eventually, his answer provokes Rifka to risk

everything. In a bold move, unheard of at the time, teenage Rifka and her close friend, Bronka, open their own business–a corset shop on the most fashionable street in Warsaw. Rifka yearns to read forbidden literature and to explore the world beyond the confines of her small community. 

Her wishes come true, albeit harrowingly, when the tumultuous events of the 20th century take her on a journey for survival. Faced with life and death situations, Rifka will have to take immense risks. She will have to decide if there is ever a time to abandon her principles for a higher purpose. What decisions will she make? Will circumstances choose for her?

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First of all, I appreciate that this work of fiction was a passion project for the author. She shares in her Author’s Note that she has never written fiction, but has previously published several works of nonfiction. The author says this story is loosely based on the bits and pieces of real life events that her deceased mother reluctantly shared before her passing in 1980.  So, I commend Annette Libeskind Berkovitz for stepping out into the unfamiliar terrain of historical fiction to preserve her mother’s legacy for future generations of their family.

The story, the setting, and the general plot were intriguing to me because I have a soft spot for historical fiction novels set in WWII era Poland.  However, I struggled through half of this 400+ page novel before filing it under DNF. In my opinion, the dialogue and interaction between characters was often flat and difficult to believe. The voices of these characters never came to life for me and it became increasingly difficult for me to connect to them in a significant enough way to keep reading.  The narrative was beautifully written and well researched, but the characters simply lacked the ability to hold my attention.

Thank you to the author along with the publisher and NetGalley for making this ebook available to read for free in exchange for an honest review.