The Bubbling Beneath.

Book Review for “The Paris Deception” by Bryn Turnbull. Summary: "Sophie Dix fled Stuttgart with her brother as the Nazi regime gained power in Germany. Now, with her brother gone and her adopted home city of Paris conquered by the Reich, Sophie reluctantly accepts a position restoring damaged art at the Jeu de Paume museum … Continue reading The Bubbling Beneath. →

TCL’s #DNF Friday #9 – A Bad First Impression(ist).

Why I can't write a book review for “Oscar & Monet: The Essence of Light” by Joe Byrd. Summary: "Does Claude Monet, a painter with eight children, have room in his heart for one more? Oscar Bonhomme, an American soldier, is in a French Army hospital recovering from his wounds when he learns of his … Continue reading TCL’s #DNF Friday #9 – A Bad First Impression(ist). →

#ShortStorySunday – Finishing the Wonder.

Book Review for “An Approach to Black” by Emily Jeremiah. Summary: This novel "traces the fate of Finnish artist Anna S. and her legacy. It’s the late nineteenth century, and Anna is married to Eino, another artist. Eino gains fame and recognition for his idyllic evocations of family life. Anna, meanwhile, goes mad and is … Continue reading #ShortStorySunday – Finishing the Wonder. →

Revelations and Rebellions.

Book Review for “Queen of the Owls” by Barbara Linn Probst Elizabeth has always been the brainy one, the “owl” of the family, so to speak. Now she’s working on her doctorate in art history. Her topic is Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings from her stay in Hawaii. At the same time, Elizabeth is noticing how all … Continue reading Revelations and Rebellions. →

A Sheepishly Pseudo Autobiography.

Book Review for “The Lost Diary of M” by Paul Wolfe. This book is written as if it is the diary of Mary Pinchot, an American painter who was murdered October 12, 1964, shot twice at close range, and whose death remains an unsolved mystery to this day. What makes her murder so significant is … Continue reading A Sheepishly Pseudo Autobiography. →

The Tint and the Taint

Book Review of “The Blue” by Nancy Bilyeau. In the author’s notes of this book, Bilyeau calls this “a spy story set amid the rivalry of eighteenth-century porcelain factories,” in which the author tells the story of Geneviève Planché, who becomes entangled in the intrigue behind discovering a new shade of blue that is also … Continue reading The Tint and the Taint →

A Dutch Treat

Book Review of A Light of Her Own by Carrie Callaghan. Judith Leyster lived in Holland in the 17th century, during a time when such things as painting, needlework and music, were acceptable as feminine pastimes. For example, artist Frans De Grebber taught all his children to paint, including his daughter Maria, and he even … Continue reading A Dutch Treat →

Shards of Remaining Objects

Book Review of "Smash All the Windows" by Jane Davis Goodreads Synopsis: “For the families of the victims of the St Botolph and Old Billingsgate disaster, the undoing of a miscarriage of justice should be a cause for rejoicing. For more than thirteen years, the search for truth has eaten up everything. Marriages, families, health, … Continue reading Shards of Remaining Objects →

The Art of Becoming Real

Book Review of "The Velveteen Daughter" by Laurel Davis Huber. The author of the classic, bestselling children's book, The Velveteen Rabbit was Margery Williams Bianco. Pamela Bianco was her daughter, and she was an artist, recognized for her talent when only a child, with her first showing at a gallery in Turin Italy, at the … Continue reading The Art of Becoming Real →

Different? Yes, but…

Book Review of "Today Will be Different" by Maria Semple. Eleanor is having a very difficult time right now. Her budding cross-dressing son is once again pretending to be sick to get out of school, and she really should be working on her book - her graphic memoir - but one thing leads to another … Continue reading Different? Yes, but… →