Vivid, moving imagining of the life of Mary Cassatt as it intersected with Degas. A portrait of Paris and the impressionist circle; a portrait of the struggle for art and love under the magnifying glass of Parisian society. Paris is shining, and book does, too.

Advanced reader copy provided by edelweiss. ( )

I have mixed feelings about this book. Upfront, it's pure fiction; other than the artists' names, their work, and the broad strokes of accomplishment, it's made up out of whole cloth.

This is the part I had issues with, I guess. I don't know enough about Degas, Cassatt, Morisot and Manet, with the result that I feel like this book has unfairly coloured my impressions of them as people. I'm going to forever be guarding against mixing up this story with the reality of 4 of the most talented impressionist painters who've yet lived.

But if you're able to keep fact and fiction seperate, this is a heartfelt, well-written story about people who might have taken the wrong turn at the fork in the road of life. It's slow-paced, but always interesting; I enjoyed it, but it wasn't a fast read. The end also has a high probability of making readers misty eyed of not weeping outright. Oliveira is very talented at creating a sympathetic anti-hero; one that you want to hug as much as you want to smack.

At some point though, I'm going to have to follow this up with more information about these artists and their real lives so I don't every accidentally try to pass off as fact the imaginations of Oliveira's mind. ( )

Book on CD narrated by Mozhan Marnò

The subtitle – A Story of Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas – is all the synopsis anyone needs. This immediately drew my attention as I love art, the Impressionists in particular, and I love reading historical fiction about artists. Also, I loved Oliveira’s debut work: My Name is Mary Sutter. So, I had high hopes.

I liked learning more about the journey these artists took to become the icons we know today. No story focusing on these two artists could possibly be told without also touching on the other Impressionists: Manet, Morisot, Pissarro, Monet, Renoir, and they are all here as well. I appreciated all the period detail and the exploration of the various tangled relationships. I was unaware of some of the medical issues that plagued Degas and Manet, having previously been content merely to study the product of their years of work. Similarly, I didn’t know about Cassatt’s family situation, or Morisot’s complicated love life. I had previously been content to merely gaze with astonishment and admiration at the works of art they created. But while I appreciate now having learned all these details, and while these elements added color to the story, they failed to really move me.

I grew as frustrated by the relationship between Mary and Edgar as Oliveira indicates Mary was. Despite what the title may imply, I didn’t find much love here. I absolutely hated Degas; what a selfish, arrogant, inconsiderate worm! And I was somewhat puzzled by Mary, so strong and determined one moment and so self-pitying in another. I found the relationship between Morisot and the Manet brothers a much more compelling story.

Final verdict: interesting historical fiction that held my attention and shed some light on the background of these artists, but it failed to fully engage me.

Mozhan Marnò does a stellar job performing the audio version. She sets a good pace and her facility with French names and phrases helped me feel I was in Paris. ( )

There's really not much plot here, just the story of the relationships between Degas and Cassatt and Morrisette and Manet and lots of other Impressionists thrown in too. ( )

I loved this book! It is so well researched and takes one back in time to the birth of Impressionism. I felt as thought I were living amongst Degas, Cassatt, Morisot and Bracquemond. Degas and Cassatt's influence on each other was profound and this book sheds light on the dance they did together. ( )