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Title: What a disappointment!
Review: I love the artist. I love the painting. I love Belle Epoque Paris (and actually, Paris in general). I love good historical fiction. I hated this book! I looked forward to reading this more than anything in a long time, and am utterly disappointed. The stars I have given it go to what I believe to be Gioia Diliberto's talent as a researcher. As a writer of fiction, (once again, in my opinion alone) she is sorely lacking. The character of Virginie that Diliberto fashioned is so unbelievably self-absorbed as to be one-dimensional and her tale is told in clunky, graceless prose that I frankly found nearly unreadable. The cover is by far the best thing about this book. If that's what fascinates you about it, go find a book of Sargent's artwork. Whatever you imagine about the figures you see in his paintings will be far, far more rewarding than anything you glean from Diliberto's novel.
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