From the E Shelf...

Author:  Aaron Elkins

Title:  A Long Time Coming

First line:  "My name is Val Caruso and I'm a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have been having one hell of a day, and I don't mean in a good way."

It was the cover of this one that first caught my eye. Then, when I saw that the story involved a Holocaust survivor, two Renoir paintings, looted art, a trip to Italy, mystery and murder, I knew I had to check it out. And I'm glad I did. I enjoyed the way this story unfolded from Caruso agreeing to do a favor for a friend, to Sol Bezzecca's story of his great grandfather's two Renoir paintings and how they were stolen during World War II, to the quirky characters Caruso meets in Milan as he tries to get one of the paintings back for Sol. Throw a little art theft and murder into the mix and the story gets even more interesting. This book is a well-plotted and entertaining mystery. I especially liked all the art history bits. And Caruso, or Tino as he's called in Italy, is a very likeable character. This was another serendipitous library find. I'm so glad I found it. Aaron Elkins is an author I'd definitely read again.

Happy Reading!

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland

"He felt hot with the pressure to get started, and to make it the greatest figure painting of the whole Impressionist movement. ... Figures, landscape, genre subject--all in one. Throw in a still life too. Not just a few figures. A dozen or more, at closer range this time. ... He would use a combination of styles. It would be an experiment. The faces modeled with more classical techniques, one hue blending seamlessly into another, but the landscape and still life in looser, distinct strokes. Every figure, every feature a small painting in and of itself."

This book has so many things in it that I love: Paris, sailing on the Seine, Sunday afternoons on the Ile de Chatou, great art, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and the Impressionists. With her skillful storytelling, Susan Vreeland transports the reader to Paris in the 1880s, capturing the brilliance and struggle of Renoir (one of my favorite Impressionist painters) and depicting the conception and creation of his most famous painting. She really brings Renoir and his friends (who posed for him in this painting) to life. And the way she recreates that time period...it felt like I was there. This is a great read--well-written and interesting. And I loved everything about it! I can't wait to read Vreeland's other books.

Happy Reading!

Luncheon of the Boating Party -- Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1881

Bookish Renoir

Pierre Auguste Renoir - Girl Reading a Book

"A girl should be two things: who and what she wants."

--Coco Chanel