Welcome to Litsy!

Finished this historical fiction about Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro‘s mother. This was my first Hoffman & I‘m glad to have read one of her many novels.
However, I‘m not sure she‘s for me 🤔. I don‘t know what it was that made it a bit of a chore at times. Maybe the slightly ‘romancy‘ style? Maybe a case of ‘it‘s not you it‘s me‘? It was evocative of place and time.
Thank you @LeeRHarry for broadening my reading horizons 🙏🤗📖. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

@LeeRHarry sent me this one as part of our #aussiesecretsanta book exchange. I am making a start on it just as school resumes, in the hope that it will provide the escape I‘ll appreciate in my downtime. #currentlyreading

Thank you @LeeRHarry for my #aussiesecretsanta goodies! Hoffman is an author I‘ve had on my radar 🤗. Can‘t wait to indulge in the chocolate (dark choc is my favourite) & I‘ve already used the hand cream, which really does smell like lemon sorbet 🍋. I‘m enjoying seeing all your posts as you open your packages fellow Aussies @Lizpixie @Flingogal @CarolynM @Jhullie @Cathy_J @Teresereading @Freespirit @LapReader

🙏🙏🙏 @thegirlwiththelibrarybag

You can tell I‘m in a slump , just finished this 1 for
#authoramonth but for Sept. A wonderful, lush historical fiction mostly of the rebellious mother of Camille Pissarro.The descriptions of St. Thomas & main character Rachel shine.Married off to save the business to a much older man w/ children, she will work to make the best of the situation & find love later in life living by her own rules & defying conventional thinking.Beautifully written!

I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I have enjoyed this month's #AuthorAMonth selection. Alice Hoffman has all these historical fiction novels based on people and events in Jewish history. And they're fantastic. This one is about the mother of Camille Pissarro and it is so good.

@Soubhiville

Loaned to me just prior to COVID, and neglected on my shelf for over a year, this novel sucked me in and kept me reading. Having read Depths of Glory first (the reason my friend loaned it to me) I was on edge the whole time, knowing her life was not a happy one. But this is that story from another angle and a vivid picture of island life. #authoramonth @Soubhiville

Starting this today for #authoramonth. @Soubhiville

Finally! Beautiful. #covidread.

I will read anything that Alice Hoffman writes. This novel centered around the life of Camille Pissarro‘s mother was so lush with descriptions of St. Thomas that transported me away from my tiny apartment, fascinating history, and characters that will be rattling around in my brain for days.

Excellent audiobook version. I enjoyed the complicated family saga, the beautiful descriptions of St Thomas and Paris, and loved he main character. Hoffman is master wordsmith. 2019 no. 13

Lush historical fiction based on the complicated family saga of one of the first Impressionist painters, Camille Pissarro.

#WanderingJune One of my favorite Alice Hoffman novels is the story of Rachel Pissarro, mother to Camille Pissarro, a 19th century impressionist painter. Set on the island of St. Thomas we learn about Rachel‘s life as a refugee from Spain and the small Jewish community that formed on St.Thomas following the Inquisition. It‘s a captivating story of a #CaribbeanQueen and her future generations.

#readingwomenchallenge This was my book featuring a religion other than my own.

Absolutely beautiful writing, the kind of historical fiction I love—highlighting a mostly unknown woman from a well-known man‘s life. The author does such a good job at bringing Rachel (& Jestine) to life. Really liked the main setting of St. Thomas, don‘t think I‘ve read anything set there before. Wasn‘t as into in the chapters from Camille‘s POV, he just didn‘t draw me in. But overall this was brilliant & I def will read more of her work. 4/5 ⭐️

“I‘ll pretend to be who they want me to be.” He grinned then, and she saw his youth. “But it won‘t work. In the end I‘ll have to disappoint someone. Either them, or myself.”

But every night I thought about my other life, the one that had yet to begin.

I wondered if all creatures were drawn to what was dangerous or if we merely wanted light at any cost and were willing to burn for our desires.

I‘ve never read anything by Alice Hoffman, but this one sounded really intriguing to me, so I figured it was a good place to start! #nowreading

Spent a pleasant evening ruthlessly culling my Litsy TBR. I could go further but want to find out who has won Survivor.

This family story follows several generations and describes their history in the Virgin Islands. It is rich in character and picturesque. It is beautiful.

A 19th c saga based on real people: the Jewish family of painter Camille Pissarro, who lived on the Caribbean island of St Thomas. Pissarro‘s mother & her closest friend are the two central characters. I enjoyed this for the most part, even though it was a bit too romantic for my taste. Example: From the moment a young widow sees a newcomer, she knows she is experiencing love for the first time. (I call that lust.) Compelling, regardless.

Then I understood that when someone begins to tell you her story, you are entwined together. Perhaps even more so if the ending hasn‘t been divulged.

There is the outside of a story and the inside of a story. One is the fruit, and may be delicious, but the other is the seed.

You have a few hours left to grab this daily deal from Audible. I haven‘t read this one yet, but I‘m a big Alice Hoffman fan, so it‘s sure to be good!

They‘re also giving away a free copy of White Fang!

A rich and beautiful family saga that begins in the early 1800s on St Thomas. The story is told from several points of view, but mostly through the first-person narration of Rachel Pizzarro. Very little is known about her, but she is best known for being Camille Pissarro's mother. I loved the descriptions of St Thomas and Paris. The characters are so distinct and interesting. And of course the writing is amazing, because Alice Hoffman.

Evening reading with the elusive #Vladimir . Notice how thrilled he is to have his picture taken...#catsoflitsy

Time to start this for next week‘s historical fiction book discussion.

Working my way through this on Day 2 of vacation.

The left is what I read this weekend VS the right which is what I wanted to read 😔 I have just a couple more weeks left of this semester and I am going to make sure I do well in classes. I whisper to my ridiculous TBR pile at night soon, soon I can devote more time to you.

It's #Recommendsday! Fab book! Couldn't put it down. Started a little slow but quickly picked up. Love the artist aspect! Seeing the world through Pissarro's eyes was a treat. Set in the 1800s, mostly on the island of St Thomas, the rest in Paris. Alice Hoffman writes beautifully. If only she would write a whole book from an artist‘s point of view! Audiobook is excellent, narrators are tops. 4.5 stars! 👍🏻

Full review: https://bit.ly/1HnXq8Q

I just finished this incredible, haunting novel last night. the Marriage of Opposites is historical fiction that blends real characters — including artist Camille Pissarro — with the evocative settings of St. Thomas and Paris. Highly recommended!

#bookrec #hardcover #historicalfiction #coverart

I loved this book❤️

#ReadingResolutions #BeautifulWriting

TFW someone‘s watching you read...

#dogsandbooks #readinglife #readtheworld #sundayreads #pupper

Love more, not less

Snow day today! Spending the evening snuggled up with my book and enjoying the contrast of its warm St. Thomas setting.

#readinglife #currentread #booksandsnow #litfic

Grabbing a few minutes of reading at the gym before class begins.

#currentread #hardcover #botm

So, I made this for me 💍📖❤️

"As I turned the pages, I felt as if there were bees on my fingertips, for I had never felt so alive as when reading."

- The Marriage of Opposites

?

Absolutely loved it! I love multi-generational historical fiction, so this was right up my alley. It was such a fun surprise to find out that it also includes a focus on art, and art history. It had just the right amount of magic — as one of the review blurbs states, it has “Hoffman‘s signature blend of folklore, fairy dust, and romantic passion.”

Anyone else love Alice Hoffman? She can just perfectly wind everything together. And look and at that cover. I just had to put a stone with it. #oceanjasper

Nothing better than a Sunday morning of a long weekend!

Just started, and am loving it so far! It‘s rare that a non-thriller captures my attention so quickly. Excited to discuss at the #2030somethingbookclub!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Finished 11/13/2016 - We read this for book club a couple of years ago. I don‘t remember loving it but many of the ladies in my book club that love historical fiction loved it.

I really enjoyed the rich character development and appreciated the strong women characters. I liked the ideas and actions they put forth that went against their norms, but found that history repeated itself in a way that was frustrating and hypocritical.

@JillPill I don't know where to start! You have spoiled me and these all sound great! I can't wait to dive in. ❄️🎁❄️💜
Wow!
#secretsantagoespostal
#wintersolsticebookexchange

Day #24 of #NovemberbytheNumbers: the twenty-four books currently on my #BOTM shelf. Upright are the books I‘ve read, stacked are #TBR. Only missing A Gentleman in Moscow & Future Home of the Living God (#upnext & #currentlyreading respectively), which are on the side table in my reading nook. I just #bookrainbow-ed these yesterday & I love how it turned out. 📚🌈

#NovemberByTheNumbers I‘ve highlighted #15 books that were published in 2015 and I‘ve actually read all #15🌞My favorites were tagged book, A Little Life, Nightingale, Fishermen, Girl on the Train, and Seven Good Years🐠🕊🚂👰👬🇮🇱

This was my first audiobook borrowed from the Overdrive app. And my first audiobook ever. Worked out wonderfully on my 35-45 minute drive to work. Anyway, this was a great historical fiction story. Filled with loss and heartache and unfaithfulness but also filled with joy and wonder and love and enchantment. Loved the headstrong lead female characters like Rachel, Adele, and Rosalie. And the kind men Frederic and Henri. Not so much Camille...

“He brought home a feather,‘ my mother said contemptuously. ‘He would have done better with a woman.‘ ‘Well, she‘s a feather weighted down with money.”

Women of every faith have power; they just have to find it within themselves. -Adele