Despite seeing his parents murdered by Nazis in a city outside of Paris when he was four, Jules Lacour has remained a loyal Frenchman his entire life. A classical musician, now in his 70s, he lives quietly, teaching at the Sorbonne and spending time with his daughter and her young son, who has leukemia. In short order startling events turn the quiet into chaos and he ... Read More...
Nonfiction November: Book Pairings
This week the Nonfiction November folks (Katie at Doing Dewey, Lory at Emerald City Book Review, Rachel at Hibernator’s Library, Julz at Julz Reads and Sarah at Sarah's Book Shelves) asked for reading pairings—book that complement each other in the way of other pairings like food and wine, clothes and accessories, chocolate and well…chocolate. Here are a few that came ... Read More...
The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee
Alexander Chee’s new novel, The Queen of the Night works well as the chilly fall nights begin because you will need to settle in to really enjoy this massive piece of entertainment. This is not a book to skim through, like any grand diva, attention must be paid. And this Chee does by creating a world overflowing with the sumptuous and the over-the-top for ... Read More...
The Queen of the Night
Alexander Chee’s new novel, The Queen of the Night works well for cold winter reading because you will need to settle in to really enjoy this massive piece of entertainment. This is not a book to skim through, like any grand diva, attention must be paid. And this Chee does by creating a world overflowing with the sumptuous and the over-the-top for Lilliet Berne, one of ... Read More...
The Marriage of Opposites
Beginning in 1795 on the island of St. Thomas The Marriage of Opposites is Alice Hoffman’s newest novel. It is the story of Rachel, a strong willed and intelligent woman, bound by the confines of the times but with dreams of traveling far away to Paris and living a life on her own terms. As the daughter of a wealthy Jewish businessman she is brought up as young ladies were but ... Read More...
Rodin’s Lover: A Novel
I have been intrigued by the life of Camille Claudel since watching the 1988 movie by the same name. She was a sculptor, living in Paris in the late 1800s, a time that was not conducive to female artists of any kind. At seventeen her talent was already such that, because of her father’s belief in her, he hired a real sculptor as a tutor for her. This is where Heather Webb’s ... Read More...
