Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War

Reviews

1. 

   Tchad Elliott – August 11, 2024

   Builds a quietly damning case against Ms. Chanel
   Because of what I do, Coco Chanel comes up a LOT. There have been any number of classes I’ve had to teach about three-piece sleeves and quilted linings in suits, but I am always a little hesitant with mentioning her by name and people want to know why I am so reluctant to use her as an example.This book explains why very, very well. The author does a very good job building a case against Chanel point by point and slowly you begin to realize that, genius aside, she was a terrible person who very may well have been responsible for the deaths of untold numbers of people.I have to admit that I had heard most of this before (hence my coldness to her generally), but not in this way and not with this much detail. I was expecting an explosive “J’accuse!” with bloody detail, but this isn’t that. This book slowly circles building layer on layer of her wartime activities that just leave you stunned that she wasn’t at least arrested and prosecuted, much less executed for treason.I read other reviews saying that the book is dry and isn’t written well and I’d agree to a point. The writing is this odd combination of storytelling and case-building. The switch between the two isn’t always that interesting or compelling.Highly recommended and probably a little shocking to those who A. don’t know much about France under occupation and B. have only known Chanel as a go-getting brilliant fashion icon. In the first case, well, it was a real mess and there are still families across the country recovering from it… and in the second case… it is very easy to be a go-getting fashion icon and maintain that status throughout the time of the most evil political regime Europe has ever seen – if you are sleeping with them in the Ritz while thousands and thousands of your countrymen are being murdered.The nice thing about this book is that the author doesn’t discount the sheer talent the woman had. Before and after the war she was a powerhouse of style and inspiration. He doesn’t discount her as a designer, he discounts her as a *person* and it is almost worse. But “Never. Again.” means just that and everyone should understand what this woman did with the Nazis when she had a thousand other choices at her fingertips. All the soft bouclé, pearls, and jersey in the world can’t cover *that* and make it more elegant. This book is this firm and quiet indictment of a terrible person with a real talent for design, terrible opinions and life choices, and the ability to manipulate her public and take advantage of any situation she could.

2. 

   Sally Martell – August 11, 2024

   Traitor
   Very honest interesting true history of channel and her sins mainly her son of collaborating with Nazis because of her greed and narcissism

3. 

   SeriousReader – August 11, 2024

   Fascinating read, but BAD writng
   I found this book to be extremely interesting and superbly researched. Although I am a fast reader, this book was very frustrating to read because it’s so badly written. There’s even a spelling error – the pin that women wear on their dresses or coats is not a broach; it is a “brooch.” As an author myself, I am aware that publishers are cutting back on expenses, such editing and proofreading, but the huge chunks of out-of-place text and the disturbing lack of transitions, which made the reading of this fascinating book such a grueling experience, is something Random House (and the author)should be ashamed of. The author should have hired a good copyeditor and given him/her a couple of months to make this book what it should have been.Do I recommend it? Yes. But if you care about good writing, be pepared for a tough read.

4. 

   Keo – August 11, 2024

   Was perfect for the Chanel style reading room

5. 

   TIM BLUE – August 11, 2024

   I quite enjoyed reading ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’. The book has helped me to fill in some of the gaps and it’s shed a lot of light on Coco Chanel’s ‘missing years’. I don’t necessarily agree with everything the author wrote, but he did some sterling work and unearthed a plethora of information and some very interesting details.

6. 

   Judy S. – August 11, 2024

   Gave as gift to former fashion store owner who could relate and loved this.