Review: The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard

Title: The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard

Author: Natasha Lester

Publisher: 27th September 2023 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 425 pages

Genre: historical fiction, mystery

Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

History said she was just a man's muse. History was wrong. The exquisite new novel from bestselling author Natasha Lester.

In November 1973, a fashion legend vanished, leaving behind only a white silk dress and the what really happened to Astrid Bricard?

Paris, 1917: Parentless sixteen-year-old Mizza Bricard makes a to be remembered on her own terms. This promise drives her and her designs through the most exclusive couture houses in France until, finally, a legend is created - one that will endure for generations to come, but not the one she wanted.

New York, 1970: Designer Astrid Bricard arrives in bohemian Chelsea ready to change the fashion world. And she does - but cast in the role of muse to her lover, Hawk Jones. Just as Astrid's star is finally poised to ascend in its own right, she mysteriously disappears, leaving her family in tatters and perpetuating the infamous Bricard family myth.

French Countryside , Present Blythe Bricard is the daughter of fashion's most infamous 70s power couple, but she turned her back on that world, and her passion for it, years ago. Fate, however, has other plans, and in a chateau over a whirlwind couple of weeks, Blythe will discover there is more to her iconic mother and grandmother - and herself - than she ever knew.

These three generations now have one chance to prove themselves. Can the women of the Bricard fashion dynasty finally rewrite their history?

My Thoughts

Natasha Lester books have all been five star reads for me. So it was with great anticipation that I took up her latest novel, The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard. Yet again Natasha has floored me with her storytelling, almost to the point of speechlessness. Where to start with a read that was so powerful, so raw and intense, taking the reader on a rollercoaster ride of emotion. This book consumed me as it is astoundingly told from three viewpoints, three generations of Bricard women, over multiple decades. Unbelievable.

‘.. she starts to emerge from something she hadn't realised she'd been buried in. It's funny how, only when a little light comes in do you understand you've become so used to darkness that you've forgotten stars exist.’

This novel is so powerful and beautifully written, each and every character brings something to the story. Through pain and loss, sacrifice and sorrow Natasha takes you on a journey where seemingly impossible decisions will have to be made with the ramifications transcending through the years to come. Exploring the lives of Mizza, Astrid and Blythe Bricard who were famous … or was it infamous? Are the stories really true? Is it a myth or the media playing sensationalism? Or, more to the point, is it the stories these women are telling themselves that has lost its focus and reliability?

‘She wants things to be different … (she) also wants them to be right, as if she believes the truth time has left them with is the one that was easiest to assemble - as if there's another account out there of lost facts that could be reconstructed if someone cared enough.’

This is also a story of gender inequality, yes in the fashion industry, but can easily be woven through broader society. Three generations of women who were made to feel so much less than their ridiculous abilities would allow for. Uniquely, it was the men closest to them who were supportive and the power of the media and social constructs that were unaccepting of these women. 

‘This man couldn't possibly imagine how good that would feel for a woman - to truly be powerful. But it's what Astrid dreams of, and the smile that settles onto her face as she walks away is both her stay and her strength - but not her undoing.’

How delightful to also have appearances from characters in Natasha’s past novels. Remy from The Riviera House and Alix from The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre are important components to this story. For me, it was such a thrill to have those connections made. But, I mean think about it for a minute …. three timelines/narratives, past characters - how does Natasha do it? This is truly a masterpiece of writing. The balance Natasha strikes and the links made between chapters and events are mind-blowing.

‘… the world is only half of what it could be when power is defined as someone losing something and when women are merely the beautiful and the damned.’

Do yourself a favour and walk the tunnels of Paris with Mizza in war torn France, embrace all the glitz and glamour with Astrid in the 1970s and finally, start putting all the pieces together with Blythe in the present day. I challenge you not to be shocked as secrets are revealed at just the right points throughout the story, or feel triumphant when your heartfelt hopes are realised. This is historical fiction, indeed storytelling, at its finest. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from Better Reading in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.