While I enjoyed reading this book and the overall concept of three connected strands, I did feel that there was an imbalance in character development. This, of course, might be something that was lost in the translation of the novel from French to English. Still worth reading for the clever use of the braid as metaphor throughout the interconnected stories of these three women.

Thank you to Laetitia Colombani for sharing your talent and to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy.

I think it is just personal opinion and preference, but this book was just lacking something for me. I liked the way it was written and I liked the overall writing, but it just didn't get a full 5-stars for me. I did enjoy the cover art; it really pulled me in and made me want to read this book. Surely, other people did love it and I am very thankful to have read it.

An enjoyable and fast read! The story of 3 women from different countries and cultures - all with a shared connection. I enjoyed all 3 story lines and appreciated that this was a relatively short novel.

Thank you, Atria Books and NetGalley!

3.49 stars

I feel like I could write two very different reviews of The Braid.

Version 1: The Braid is a very readable short novel that had me fully engaged from beginning to end. There are three strands to the story which appear to be completely separate but come together in the end – like a braid, of course. The first strand focuses on Samsi who lives in India, and is part of the “untouchable” cast; Samsi desperately wants to give her daughter a better life. The second strand is about Giulia who lives in Sicily, and works for her family run business of recovering and treating hair for wigs. And finally there is Sarah, who lives in Montreal, a single mother of three who also works as a high powered lawyer. All three women are at crossroads in their lives. Their stories alternate and come together nicely at the end. It’s a bit didactic, but I couldn’t help being pulled in by these three vivid characters in different circumstances.

Version 2: It’s always dangerous to write about circumstances that aren’t your own. It’s easy to simplify and to make assumptions that end up turning people into caricatures rather than fully formed people with complex emotions and motivations. The author of The Braid is French, and yet she writes about about characters in very different parts of the world. Being familiar with the world of one of the characters – Sarah – the depiction of her life and the people around her really struck me as superficial. Which, of course, made me wonder about the less familiar worlds of Samsi and Giulia.

Two sides of the same coin.

I wish I had known that The Braid was translated from French before I started it because I would have read it in the original version. Having said that, it is a very good translation. I never felt that I was reading a translation.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

This novel is about three strong, determined women from very different walks of life. Each woman fights prejudice, each is a warrior, each answers the call to "challenge tradition at your peril."

Smita, from India, is one of the untouchable caste, there is none lower. She lives in a slum with her husband and daughter Lalita. Smita works at a job that has been passed from mother to daughter in her family for generations. She collects human waste. Her husband works as a rat killer, also a job his family has held for generations. If he's lucky, he can take home what he has caught to feed his family. Smita is determined that Lalita will never work at what she does, and is thrilled when her daughter is accepted (for a payment) at a school. She will be educated, she will have a future! But school didn't work out as Smita had hoped. She finds herself in the position of making a major, life-changing decision for her family.

Giulia lives in Sicily and works at her father's well-known and respected factory making hairpieces and wigs from hair that has been kept after it has been cut or fallen out and sold to her father. She is educated, loves to read and adores her father. She lives a good life. But when her father is in a serious accident, she finds the business is financially in trouble. The immigrant she has secretly been seeing has a possible solution. Will she bring their relationship to light and try his suggestion?

Sarah lives in Montreal, Canada. Forty years old, she has become so adept at juggling motherhood, her profession and her boss that she has every moment in each day planned and accounted for. Twice-divorced with three children and a male nanny, she is an equity partner in Johnson & Lockwood, one of the cities most prestigious and respected law firms. She is the only female partner and she is well aware that there are those who would be happy to see her gone. One thing she hadn't planned on was a health crisis that shatters her world as she knows it.

The author does a nice job of fleshing out the three women characters. What ties their lives together is a bit far-fetched, but this is an enjoyable and quick read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

three women's lives become entwined even though they live on three different continents and in three stunningly different circumstances. A most readable, uplifting book.

This was a quick read, however I was left wanting more. The author could have delved into the details and really fleshed out a more intriguing novel.

This is a look at three different women from different cultures and how their lives intertwine. It was a wonderfully told story.


I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

A great thanks to the publishers via Negalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Three women. Three countries. Their lives weave together as a braid even though they have never met. Rotating from the perspective of each woman you get to know them and their life story. Each time a persons chapter ended it felt like a cliff hanger. Something big was taking place. They were transforming for the next stages of their lives and going into it strong. I felt strong and inspired by the end of their stories. A truly wonderful book.

This novel touches on the enormous disparity between the lives of women in different countries and cultures - and how excruciatingly bad women and girls are treated in (parts of) India. Eye opening! It also shows how quickly the harsh barbs return in modern, first-world societies when the slightest crack appears in our invincibility cloaks or schedules (i.e., illness/family); our gains are actually mostly illusions. The Sicilian woman actually seemed to have the most balanced choices of the three determined characters.

I thought this novel was very short and could have gone much further with its theme than it did with this important topic. Overall, a good conversation starter and a strong choice for bookclubs