Book/Audiobook Review: The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Everyone remembers her daringly short, silver lamé dress. An iconic photo capturing an electric moment, where emerging American designer Astrid Bricard is young, uninhibited, and on the cusp of fashion and feminism’s changing landscape. She and fellow designer Hawk Jones are all over Vogue and the disco scene. Yet she can’t escape the legacy of being the daughter of Mizza Bricard, infamous “muse” for Christian Dior. Astrid would give anything to take her place among the great houses of couture—on her own terms. I won’t inspire it when I can create it.

But then Astrid disappeared…

Now Astrid’s daughter, Blythe, holds what remains of her mother and grandmother’s legacies. Of all the Bricard women, she can gather the torn, shredded, and painfully beautiful fabrics of three generations of grief, heartbreak, and abandonment to create something that will shake the foundations of fashion. The only piece that’s missing is the one question that no one’s been able to answer: What really happened to Astrid?

BOOK REVIEW

This is a multi-period novel exploring the lives of three Bricard women who are talented but largely unrecognized for that talent.   Mizza Bricard was a talented designer who is better known as the real-life muse of Christian Dior.  Her fictionalized daughter Astrid Bricard was known as the daughter of Mizza Bricard and also as the muse of designer Hawk Jones.  Astrid’s daughter Blythe is fighting to be recognized as a designer in her own right, but she is in the shadow of media perceptions and her designer ex-husband Jake.  She is also living with the fact that her mother disappeared when she was a baby and her father has never been there for her either. 

This novel looks at the oppression of women in the fashion industry, mental health, abandonment, and other issues.  The characters are strong, talented women who face an uphill battle with discrimination, public perception, and media portrayals.  The fashion industry background is richly described, and the treatment of the media towards women over the decades is eye-opening.  Important mental health issues that affect women are also brought to the forefront. The three time periods—the 1940s, 1970’s, and present day are very different, but all share the same issue of women fighting to be recognized in the fashion industry.  The love stories set in the midst of the glamour and betrayal of this industry are well done.

I also listened to the audiobook, and the narrator Barrie Kreinik does a great job of portraying all of the characters.

My rating is 4.5 stars, rounded up to five on sites with no half-star option.

Anyone interested in fashion and historical fiction will enjoy this novel.

I received a free copy of the ebook from Forever Books and a free copy of the Audiobook from Hachette Audio. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (FROM GOODREADS)

Natasha Lester is the multi-award winning and New York Times best-selling author of THE PARIS SEAMSTRESS, THE PARIS ORPHAN, THE PARIS SECRET and THE THREE LIVES OF ALIX ST PIERRE. Her new book, THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ASTRID BRICARD is out now in Australia, and was published in North America in Jan 2024.

Prior to writing, she worked as a marketing executive for L’Oreal, managing the Maybelline brand, before returning to university to study creative writing.

Natasha’s books have been translated into more than twenty-one different languages and are now published all around the world.

She lives in Perth, Western Australia with her 3 children and loves fashion history, practicing the art of fashion illustration, collecting vintage fashion, traveling and, of course, books. (less)

Natasha’s Social Media: WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | Google |Kobo

COVER OPTIONS. WHICH DO YOU LIKE BETTER?

Below are the American and Australian covers. Which one do you like better? I think I’m leaning toward the Australian cover, but I like the color of the dress on the American cover. I don’t always like it when they cut the face in half on a cover, so I will choose Australia.