Meeting Coty by Ruth Estevez

 

I really enjoyed attending the launch of this book at the lovely Portico Library in Manchester. Ruth gave us a fascinating talk which included some of the history of the Coty firm. 

Tessa Garcia has big dreams and takes steps to make them come true.

Tessa faces many expectations from her Spanish-Irish Catholic family; that she should marry, that she shouldn’t work, and that she should be dependent on men all of her life. She already has a work ethos and an enthusiasm for perfumes. This arouses in her a fascination with the perfume maker François Coty.    

Estevez presents us with a narrative as smooths as silk in this fascinating story of Meeting Coty.   

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Jiddy Vardy by Ruth Estevez

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I’ve read three books by Ruth Estevez recently and enjoyed them all but this, her latest, is fabulous.

Jiddy Vardy is an extraordinary young woman, living in a world that is dangerous and exciting. She is later introduced to another world, a world that is her birth right, and she finds herself conflicted. 

Is it a young adult book or one written for adults? Certainly Jiddy is a young person who encounters many of the dilemmas facing young people even today. She experiences her first kiss. She is kissed by another man but this second lover doesn’t come up to expectations. The ending is upbeat but open, so typical of a young adult text. Yet the novel would also be very appealing to adults.   

This is arguably also an historical novel. Estevez creates a convincing setting and makes good use of the senses to pull us right into the story. 

Estevez’s prose style is very evocative, making the novel an excellent read.