So close, but not enough
We all know I love historical fiction. My obvious preference cannot be hidden. I am a sucker for anything set any time but now and we all know I am a big sucker for Paris. So when I read the teaser for Mademoiselle Victorine by Debra Finerman I had high hopes.
Sadly those hopes weren't quite realized. Finerman is a good writer and you can tell she knows Paris. She knows the history of Paris. What I felt she didn't truly know was her character, Victorine Laurent.
I never felt she actually knew how Victorine would react or what actions she would take. This lack of closeness really kept me distant from Victorine and therefore, distant from the story.
I couldn't figure out why a writer would write about a character they didn't not know until I read the Author's Note at the back of the book and I realized that Finerman had attempted something I consider a very difficult aspect of historical fiction, creating a fictional character based on real people and then weaving that character into the lives of real people. According to Finerman she borrowed aspects of Countess Virginia de Castiglione and Victorine Meurent to create Victorine Laurent. She then wove Laurent back into Edouard Manet's life.
I will, of course, keep trying to get close to Victorine Laurent so I can truly experience the story but I think this is one story that will always keep me removed and distant.
Try it out for yourself and if you unwrap the mystery of Mademoiselle Victorine, please share the secret key that will open up that world.
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