Sometimes when you need the right book or you can’t find the right book, it finds you. It’s one of my favorite kinds of serendipity (right up there with finding a dress you love that fits at 50% off). It’s also another testament to the power of libraries. I’ve never been browsing an online book store and happened upon a book that sounded perfect. No. It’s a tactile experience ... Read More...
Lost and Found in Paris
When her husband of ten years informs her that he has 5-year-old twin sons and wants to integrate them (and their mother) into their lives, Joan Blakely realizes it might be time for a change. Broken hearted and confused she still wastes no time in changing the locks and starting divorce proceedings. But what to do next? The question is answered with humor, and a mystery, in ... Read More...
The Honeybee Emeralds
The Honeybee Emeralds is about a young woman working at a Parisian magazine who discovers a gorgeous necklace in the pocket of an old coat. Is it real? Who did it belong to? The hunt is on in this fun, light novel. The magazine Alice interns at is failing fast, as evidenced by the fact that the heat has been off in the building for weeks. She and a surly neighbor are ... Read More...
Mistress of the Ritz
I began this week with a novel that took place partly during World War II so will keep it clean and end that way. Except, Mistress of the Ritz takes place in the thick of it—Nazi headquarters in Paris, the Hotel Ritz. Author Melanie Benjamin is back with a historical fiction based on the life of Blanche Auzello, the wife of the Ritz’s director during the war. Blanche and ... Read More...
The Collector’s Apprentice: A Novel
Before I share my thoughts on The Collector's Apprentice, B.A. Shapiro's new art world novel, I need to fess up that this books contains two big pieces of literary kryptonite for me. One is kind of obvious—the cover. I love the era of well-dressed, elegant women in pearls, even if I spend 95% of my days in what can only kindly be called athleisure wear (read: really old ... Read More...
Katerina: A Novel by James Frey
Last week I wrote about The Golden State, a novel that literally flowed, with very little punctuation or grammar, from the protagonist’s mind. Oddly, enough immediately after that book, I read James Frey’s Katerina and he utilizes the same style. The good news? In both cases it works. Katerina is the story of Jay, a writer at two very different points in his life. In 1992 he is ... Read More...
