Review: The Time in Between

The Time in Between by María Dueñas

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I really, really liked this book. It had languished on my reading list for several years and I finally got around to grabbing it from the library. It's long, and seems intimidating at the beginning, but it was as gripping a novel as I can remember reading, particularly for something that is more seriously Literature and not at all an Airplane Read.

The story was really unusual - Sira is a young seamstress when the Spanish Civil War breaks out and she flees Spain for Morocco, following a charismatic, but as it turns out untrustworthy man. Alone in a foreign country, she works to become a sought-after dressmaker for expatriates from all over Europe as WWII breaks out. During the war she returns to Madrid, and opens a similarly popular dressmaking business; however, this time she takes advantage of her access to officers' wives to pass information and messages as a spy.

What I liked about this book was that it was a really compelling female character in a sweeping complex story. I rooted for her the entire book - and she does go through some very hard times. The story was adventurous and fun to read.



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