Julie's Review: The Art Forger

Summary: On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art worth today over $500 million were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there’s more to this crime than meets the eye. Claire makes her living reproducing famous works of art for a popular online retailer. Desperate to improve her situation, she lets herself be lured into a Faustian bargain with Aiden Markel, a powerful gallery owner. She agrees to forge a painting—one of the Degas masterpieces stolen from the Gardner Museum—in exchange for a one-woman show in his renowned gallery. But when the long-missing Degas painting—the one that had been hanging for one hundred years at the Gardner—is delivered to Claire’s studio, she begins to suspect that it may itself be a forgery. Claire’s search for the truth about the painting’s origins leads her into a labyrinth of deceit where secrets hidden since the late nineteenth century may be the only evidence that can now save her life. B. A. Shapiro’s razor-sharp writing and rich plot twists make The Art Forger an absorbing literary thriller that treats us to three centuries of forgers, art thieves, and obsessive collectors. it’s a dazzling novel about seeing—and not seeing—the secrets that lie beneath the canvas. ~amazon.com

Review: The Art Forger is a thriller with a deep understanding of what it takes to be an artist and painter. So much so that I found myself a little in over my head with it at times. Sure I took the requisite Art History class but never went into detail like Ms. Shapiro does with Claire and her skills. Ms. Shapiro takes great care to explain the way that Degas painted and the way that Claire paints. At times, I felt myself buried in details but unlike some books, I knew that there was a reason for this level of description. It is about 1/4 of the way through the book where it starts to pick up the pace. You begin to wonder how deceitful Aiden was with Claire. Was he? Why is she not being fully honest with him as well? Are they both self-preserving?

Claire is a wonderful character to get to know. She is not without her flaws, which makes her that much more enjoyable to go on the journey with. She has a tainted past that is slowly revealed through chapters that flashback to three years prior. It isn't that you can't figure out what happened to Issac but it's Claire's actions to right a wrong that are intriguing.

Sure there were times when I thought that Claire was a bit out of her realm and might be in over her head but I loved that she was determined to get to the truth. Initially it wasn't just for herself, but in the end it turned out that she needed the truth to be told as much as anyone. 

I can't imagine the research that Ms. Shapiro had to go through to get the accuracy of Degas' painting techniques and those that Claire and Issac used as well. Not to mention the ins and outs of the purchase and sale of art, both legal and illegal. There is a statistic in the book that if true, it shocking to me, that as many as 40% of what we think are true masterpieces are really masterful forgeries!!! Wow!!

The Art Forger is a stunning and thrilling debut novel. It has piqued my interest to go into Chicago and visit The Art Institute again. I was there a lot during college. If you are looking for a different type of thriller, then this novel is for you.

Final Take: 4.75/5


 

Julie's 2012 Books in Review

I admit it, I wasn't going to do one of these lists because 2012 was a truly wonderful year of reading for me and I'm going to find it hard to pick my favorites.

My Goodreads Challenge:  70 Books
Books Read:  88!!!

2012 was a year where I had more than a handful of 5/5 books! So, I think I'm going to break it down by category for my favorites (top 5 in each if applicable).

Here goes nothing:

Contemporary Fiction:

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
The Scent of Lightning and Rain by Nancy Pickard
Home Front by Kristin Hannah
Brand New Human Being by Emily Jean Miller
The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain

Historical Fiction:

A Good American by Alex George
The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
Hemingway's Girl by Erika Robuck
Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

Mystery/Crime/Thriller:

The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Ransom River by Meg Gardiner
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Lost Hours by Karen White
Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton

Women's Fiction/Chick Lit:

The Underside of Joy by Sere Halverson Prince
These Girls by Sarah Pekkanen
The Song Remains the Same by Allison Winn Scotch
Honey on Your Mind by Maria Murnane
I've Got Your Number by Sophia Kinsella

Others Categories:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Fantasy)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Classic)
Overseas by Beatriz Williams (Romance)
Jeneration X by Jen Lancaster (Memoir)

I am hoping that 2013 is as wonderful of a reading year as 2012!

Happy Reading!

Alice's Review: I am Lucky Bird

Summary: Fleur Philips' I AM LUCKY BIRD is an intensely gripping, deeply emotional literary novel, telling the heart-wrenching narrative of its young protagonist, Lucky Bird, after her mother AnnMarie mysteriously vanishes, and her childhood comes to an abrupt end. Left alone to defend herself against her suddenly abusive grandmother, Marian Bird, and forced to endure the twisted predatory game played out by Marian's lover Tom Cressfield, Lucky's life soon descends into a nightmare. Even when she manages to escape, the outside world can't take away the brutal images of her past. Still haunted by her mother's disappearance and the trauma that followed, Lucky is easily led down a path of self-destruction, a path that only the intervention of a handsome young stranger and his family seems to offer any hope of guiding her away from. But first, she will have to confront her demons, and the dark truths that they kept hidden... I Am Lucky Bird has made it onto the 2011 list of finalists for ForeWord Reviews' Book Of The Year Awards- surely only the first of many awards to come! ~ amazon.com

Review: Although this novel is very short, it packs quite a powerful punch. I am Lucky Bird is not your typical coming of age story about a young girl in rural Montana in the early 90s. Lucky Bird is not your typical girl. At 11 years old, Lucky lives in a small home with Marian, a nurse at the local hospital who found a newborn Lucky abandoned behind her favorite tavern, and AnnMarie, Marian’s quiet introspective daughter and Lucky’s closest companion. The novel follows the next 6 years of Lucky’s life. A life that is plagued with tragedy and horrifying revelations.

My one concern with I am Lucky Bird is that as tragic and heartbreaking as is it, the author was able to wrap it up in a pretty little package complete with a bow and confetti. It was hard to imagine things ending so perfectly for Lucky. It was too perfect and as annoyed as I was, I did cry at the end. Those tears were pure joy for her because she deserved it.

It’s very easy to overlook that minor infraction because the rest of the novel is brilliant. Ms. Philips skillfully creates the characters of Marian, AnnMarie and Lucky. Of the three, the one I was drawn to the most was AnnMarie. She is the one character we got to know through others only and she was the one I was most curious about. I wondered what she was feeling, what was going on behind the silence and wall of books she surrounded herself with. That’s probably what endeared me to her. It’s easy to relate to someone who lives her life in books and avoids the outside world.

Although I am Lucky Bird is incredibly dark and heart wrenching, I highly recommend it. It reads like a memoir. It reminds me of a Lifetime movie, but in a good way. Ms. Philips definitely made a fan out of me and I look forward to what she will do next.

Final Take: 4/5

Children's Corner: You and Me, Little Bear

Review: This is the second time we've checked out You and Me, Little Bear from the library and my son just loves it. I have to say it isn't my favorite that we've checked out but hey they all can't be winners. It's not that I dislike it, I just find it to be tongue twisting to read. In all honesty, I think my son is a little old for this but the message is a good one.

Big Bear has a lot to do on this particular day and all that Little Bear wants to do is play. So, Big Bear has Little Bear help him with the chores but when that wears off, Big Bear sends him off to play by himself.

I think it sends a good message to kids about being able to entertain yourself and not always rely on your parents to play with you. Sure this isn't always easy but it's a valuable less for kids to be able to use their imagination. It's all a good reminder for parents to take a break from everything else and play with your kids.

The illustrations are simple and evoke the meaning of the story.

If you have a younger child who is learning to be able to play independently, then this book will help you reinforce that.

Alice's Review: Parlor Games

Summary: A sweeping historical novel about a beautiful con artist whose turn-of-the-century escapades take her around the world as she's doggedly pursued by a Pinkerton Agency detective.  The novel opens in 1917 with our cunning protagonist, May Dugas, standing trial for extortion. As the trial unfolds, May tells her version of events. In 1887, at the tender age of eighteen, May ventures to Chicago in hopes of earning enough money to support her family. Circumstances force her to take up residence at the city’s most infamous bordello, but May soon learns to employ her considerable feminine wiles to extract not only sidelong looks but also large sums of money from the men she encounters. Insinuating herself into Chicago’s high society, May lands a well-to-do fiancé—until, that is, a Pinkerton Agency detective named Reed Doherty intervenes and summarily foils the engagement.  Unflappable May quickly rebounds, elevating seduction and social climbing to an art form as she travels the world, eventually marrying a wealthy Dutch Baron. Unfortunately, Reed Doherty is never far behind and continues to track May in a delicious cat-and-mouse game as the newly-minted Baroness’s misadventures take her from San Francisco to Shanghai to London and points in between. The Pinkerton Agency really did dub May the “Most Dangerous Woman,” branding her a crafty blackmailer and ruthless seductress. To many, though, she was the most glamorous woman to grace high society. Was the real May Dugas a cold-hearted swindler or simply a resourceful provider for her poor family? As the narrative bounces back and forth between the trial taking place in 1917 and May’s devious but undeniably entertaining path to the courtroom—hoodwinking and waltzing her way through the gilded age and into the twentieth century—we're left to ponder her guilt as we move closer to finding out what fate ultimately has in store for our irresistible adventuress. ~amazon.com

Review:  When I think of the most dangerous woman in America, the last person I think about is a wannabe socialite from Menominee, Michigan.  But that is exactly what the Pinkerton Detective Agency dubbed our protagonist May Dugas.

Parlor Games is deliciously entertaining.  I really loved the cat and mouse game between May and Reed Doherty, the Pinkerton detective.  Just when I had forgotten about him, he would pop up to foil May’s plan once again.  I also loved reading May’s adventures.  She was quite the world traveler.  I loved her moxie and her opportunistic ways.  She never gave up and did what she had to in order to have a better life.  She was selfless in the way that these desires extended to her family as well.  She wanted a better life for them.  I think that is what I enjoyed the most about this novel.  May wasn’t this cunning dangerous woman, she was resourceful. 

Parlor Games has a wonderful cast of supporting characters.  I especially loved the spunky Daisy and May’s husband, the respected Dutch Baron Rudolph de Vries.  I love the stability the Baron offered May and Daisy was simply fantastic.  Daisy is the one character that made me wish Parlor Games wasn’t written in first person.  I would have loved to get inside Daisy’s head for a bit.  Maybe Ms. Biaggio will take the foundation of Daisy and write another novel based on her.  Yes, I would like that very much.

Ms. Biaggio is a gifted writer however there were times when the transition from scene to scene wasn’t smooth.  Also, the thing that wasn’t clear to me was May’s friendship with Frank.  Their first go-around was recounted thoroughly however their second attempt at a friendship was told through court testimony only.  I felt a little cheated.  I wanted to know May’s point of view and that lack of knowledge made it very difficult for me to side with her.  The author added much vivid detail yet at times, glazed over the minor things that would have really pulled the story together, mainly what exactly happened with May and Frank.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel up until the end.  I had rooted for May throughout Parlor Games but in the end, I was left shaking my head in wonder if she really was cunning and deceitful.  Maybe that is the point. Once May stopped talking and weaving a web of lies, all that is left is fact and truth.  And the truth is maybe the Pinkerton Detective Agency is right.

Final Take: 4/5

Julie's List: Chunkster Challenge

With so many thick books sitting in my TBR pile, I decided that this would be the year that I put some of them in the read pile instead. Here is what I am reading for this personal challenge:

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Winds of War by Herman Wouk
Fall of Giants: Book One of the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett
Outlander by Diana Galbadon
The Time In Between: A Novel by Maria Duenas

You will see that some of these books have ended up on other challenge lists as well. I figured this way I won't be so overwhelmed. Wish me luck!!