Gloria Goldreich

A beautiful and comprehensive novel about Marc Chagall, his wife Bella and daughter Ida. Describes the complex dynamics, creativity and major issues of their lives in Europe and in the US.

The 3 of them were very close and loving; almost pathologically. Marc and Bella were very protective of Ida forcing her to consider ways to gain independence.

The Bridal Chair portrays Marc Chagall as both egotistical and needy. And Ida as an artist in her own right, a brilliant representative and negotiator of her father's works to the public. Her weakness was allowing her father to irrationally depend on her for far too long, as she depended on him for her self-respect and identity. Finally, after marriage and children she is forced to move on and live her own life.

Excellent read but... about 100 pages too long.… (altro)

Interesting dynamic between Marc Chagall and his daughter Ida. Ida was raised in the art community, involved in every aspect of the art and social life of her parents. She didn't have true independence till her mid-40s. The story centers around the life of Ida Chagall-Meyer taking you from France to the United States, and all over the world, as she traveled working as her fathers art agent. Her life centered around her father and she was not resentful of that as it afforded her travel and art connections.

I enjoyed the novel and frankly was terribly frustrated with Ida as I can't imagine putting everything on hold for someone who did not recognize all the sacrifices made for them.… (altro)

I won this book through a Fall Preview giveaway at bookreporter.com. I enjoy WWII fiction so it was a good bet that I would enjoy this one. A plus is that it is based on the stories of real people. I felt like a got a good look into the lives of the French people, and especially the French Jews, during the Nazi occupation. I also felt like a got a better appreciation for what those that joined the Resistance went through — the planning, the dedication, the risks of daily life as a member of the Resistance. This book met one of my key wants in historical fiction; it inspired me to read and learn more. I spent time on Wikipedia reading about Madeleine Levy’s grandfather, Alfred Dreyfus, and his trials. Sadly, there is at this time no entry for Madeleine Levy.

While I enjoyed this story and found it very readable, I also found it repetitive at times. The fact that they were living in dangerous times and that Madeleine and Claude might not survive the war to have a future was mentioned every time they got together. There were similar repetitive lines. I wish some of this could have been cut. The book would have been shorter and the story flowed a little more quickly without the repetition.

I also felt that the story didn’t have the emotional impact it might have, had the author not included a spoiler in her author notes on the very first page—before the story even started!. Once she did, I read between the lines and knew what was going to happen. The only questions were when and how. But the time it did happen, I was resigned to it. My suggestion is that you save the author notes for the end!

I did enjoy the book and learned some history from it. I think readers of WWII historical fiction, and particularly fans of Kristin Hannah’s ‘The Nightingale’ will enjoy this one!… (altro)

I learned so much about the Jewish community in the city of Paris and how they created a system to help Jewish children get out of how these brave young people got the Jewish children out of Germany – occupied France.

The author showed how the Jewish community in Paris trained and went about learning the skills they need to help their owns. I was surprised by their antiquate plan. I hadn’t know about this before.

Madeleine Levy was a social worker and was able to help young ones escape their captives through proper channels because she was allowed to do certain things under the law as a social worker. Claude had a dangerous job as well. Each of them including Simone Madeleine’s sister risked their lives to help others. They were brave, dedicated, and passionate in their per suite. No one thought that Hitler would invade France, but it was a game changer when he did. All the things they had studied for and practiced in preparation was put into motion.

I enjoyed this story of ordinary people rising up to do amazing, fearless, intentional things. It’s a story of family, friendship, teamwork, courage, hope and love. The story became even more intriguing when I discovered this was a novel based on true events inspired by the countries fight for survival during WWII, during a time when children were abandoned, starving, and all of Paris was fearful. The author does not dwell on the gory details and the horrors the Nazi’s put people through.

This story will work well for your book club. There is so much to talk about and there is a tender love story between Madeline, and Claude I enjoyed.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog www.bookfun.org… (altro)