Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Concerned over his daughter's persistent melancholy after her mother's death, Henri could only think of one person who might offer a true distraction. Solange met her biological grandmother, Marthe, for the first time at the end of 1938 in Marthe's Paris apartment and it changed them both for the better. Marthe found an avid listener for the story of her fully loved and lived scandalous life during the Belle Epoque. In turn, Solange learned to be confident in her own choices for happiness. It's surprising so few moments feel dramatic considering part of the novel is set in pre-World War II France and Solange's mother was Jewish, or even as a result of Marthe's demimonde lifestyle. The primary focus on relationships, both romantic and familial, could have benefitted from stronger connections among the characters. Richman's (The Garden of Letters; The Lost Wife) inspiration for this novel is intriguing and a brief readers' guide at the end adds interest. Verdict Historical details of life in Paris from the late 1880s to the late 1930s will appeal to those looking to find a quiet story, touched with a hint of feminist rebellion.-Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
In this exploration of sensuality, beauty, and the lives of heirlooms, two women narrate a rich tale set in Paris during the 19th and 20th centuries. In 2010, a time capsule of sorts was uncovered in Paris's ninth arrondissement: an apartment untouched since WWII and filled with treasures of a bygone age. Richman (The Garden of Letters), in her fifth novel, fills in the details of this intriguing mystery by imagining the life and loves of the apartment's real-life inhabitant, courtesan Marthe de Florian. On the eve of WWII, Marthe recites her adventures in the half-world of belle epoque Paris, where she began as an impoverished seamstress and ended up a demimondaine, to her granddaughter Solange, a budding writer. Solange has her own story to tell; the world she thought she knew is unraveling, and Solange's mother recently revealed her Jewish heritage before dying. Hoping to understand her past, Solange takes a precious book from her mother's collection to a rare book dealer. There she meets Alec, the son of the book dealer, and slowly begins to fall in love. Meanwhile, Hitler's troops draw closer to Paris, her father is conscripted, and Marthe's health begins to fail. Richman fills her novel with vibrant details (including some of the more juicy bits from Marthe's real life), much as Marthe decorated her apartment: always with care, craft, and a sharp eye. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
In 2010, an apartment in Paris was unlocked for the first time in seven decades, revealing a time capsule from the Belle Époque. The apartment had been owned by one Marthe de Florian, and among its contents was a previously unknown portrait of her by the painter Giovanni Boldini. In Richman's telling, Marthe's granddaughter, Solange, is first introduced to her grandmother on the eve of WWII and decides to write a novel based on her life. Chapters detailing Marthe's reinvention of herself from seamstress to chorus girl to glamorous and artistically inclined demimondaine with a passion for Asian porcelains alternate with those narrated by Solange, who, thanks to some old volumes that belonged to her mother, discovers her Jewish heritage and falls in love with Alex, a Jewish dealer in rare books. Though the story sags under the weight of period and historical detail, lush descriptions of beautiful things help create a sensual reading experience. Readers who are intrigued by Marthe's apartment may also be interested in Michelle Gables' A Paris Apartment (2014).--Quinn, Mary Ellen Copyright 2016 Booklist