Mademoiselle Victorine If I have a super power, so far it has taken the form of attracting books. Books arrive in the mail, sometimes with sender known, at other times, delightful reads from anonymous benefactors. Books leap off the shelf while in bookstores or libraries, there are several book exchanges within walking distance in our neighborhood, and friends often share books, a thoughtful note tucked inside such as, “Saw this, thought of you, enjoy.”
I adore books and art and feel a kindred affinity with both writers and artists. The latest book that found its way to me is Mademoiselle Victorine by Debra Finerman. It combines several of my favorite things such as art, history, intrigue and a sumptuous glimpse of Paris in the 1860’s.
The story revolves around Edouard Manet and his muse. I will not spill any more details of the plot, no spoilers here.
Debra Finerman is an engaging writer and I adored her pacing. Neither slow, nor premature climax, she paints with words, giving us enough detail to set the scene, but does not burden her readers with unnecessary description or elongate the story just to hear herself write.
Thankfully she does not try to cram in everything she learned along the way of researching this tale, but if I have one little criticism, it’s HOW IMPORTANT it was to either the publisher or the author that anyone holding Madame Victorine in their hands will know that Debra Finerman “attended the prestigious Christie’s Graduate Program in Connoisseurship and the Art Market.”
It says that on the back cover, it repeats it in the “About the Author” page, and in case you missed it those two times, she also refers to in the Acknowledgments page. And in case that didn’t impress you properly, there’s also the part where you are meant to learn that the Harvard Writing Workshop provided their “invaluable insights” about this manuscript and for good measure, she lets you know that her son is a “Harvard history major.”
Rather than being duly impressed, I felt perhaps the insecurity of a first time novelist wanting to convince her readers that she really does know what she’s writing about. However, once I let that La Dee Dah and Whoop dee doo go, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, enough to give it a shout out here.
Did I mention that she “attended the prestigious Christie’s Graduate Program in Connoisseurship and the Art Market?” Ha, just kidding.
Sip into something comfortable to drink and enjoy the luxurious romp.
I adore books and art and feel a kindred affinity with both writers and artists. The latest book that found its way to me is Mademoiselle Victorine by Debra Finerman. It combines several of my favorite things such as art, history, intrigue and a sumptuous glimpse of Paris in the 1860’s.
The story revolves around Edouard Manet and his muse. I will not spill any more details of the plot, no spoilers here.
Debra Finerman is an engaging writer and I adored her pacing. Neither slow, nor premature climax, she paints with words, giving us enough detail to set the scene, but does not burden her readers with unnecessary description or elongate the story just to hear herself write.
Thankfully she does not try to cram in everything she learned along the way of researching this tale, but if I have one little criticism, it’s HOW IMPORTANT it was to either the publisher or the author that anyone holding Madame Victorine in their hands will know that Debra Finerman “attended the prestigious Christie’s Graduate Program in Connoisseurship and the Art Market.”
It says that on the back cover, it repeats it in the “About the Author” page, and in case you missed it those two times, she also refers to in the Acknowledgments page. And in case that didn’t impress you properly, there’s also the part where you are meant to learn that the Harvard Writing Workshop provided their “invaluable insights” about this manuscript and for good measure, she lets you know that her son is a “Harvard history major.”
Rather than being duly impressed, I felt perhaps the insecurity of a first time novelist wanting to convince her readers that she really does know what she’s writing about. However, once I let that La Dee Dah and Whoop dee doo go, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, enough to give it a shout out here.
Did I mention that she “attended the prestigious Christie’s Graduate Program in Connoisseurship and the Art Market?” Ha, just kidding.
Sip into something comfortable to drink and enjoy the luxurious romp.
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