Saturday, September 20, 2014

Lisette's List

Lisette's List by Susan Vreeland
414 Pages


Lisette and her husband move in 1937 from Paris to a village in the south of France to care for the husband's grandfather.  The grandfather has 7 paintings that he earned by making frames for famous impressionists such as Cezanne and Pissaro.  As Lisette adjusts to the slower pace of life, the grandfather tells her the stories behind the paintings and the painters that painted them.  This increases her admiration for art.  When war looms large, Andre, the husband, hides the paintings to keep them safe.  He doesn't tell his wife where they are so she won't accidentally give away the secret.  When he doesn't survive, one of her list items is to find the missing paintings.  The book details the struggle of the french woman Lisette learning to grow and adjust to changing situations.

Vreeland has written other novels that take place around a famous painting or artist.  This one is less confined and because it isn't shoehorned to fit a certain situation seems much better than her previous novel. 

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