Pages: 432
Received: Received a copy from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Buy From Chapters.ca / Buy From BookDepository.com
Goodreads Synopsis:
A dazzling novel set in the Cap D'Antibes based on the real-life inspirations for Fitzgerald's Tender is The Night.
In this gorgeous, glamorous, and affecting novel, Liza Klaussmann does for Sara and Gerald Murphy what Paula McLain and Michael Cunningham did for Ernest Hemingway and Virginia Woolf in The Paris Wife and The Hours. Villa America was in fact a real house on the French Riviera that Sara and Gerald Murphy built to escape to in the 1920's. Members of a group of expat Americans, they were known for their fabulous parties and for making the Riviera into the glamorous place it is today. Their freewheeling days were filled with champagne and caviar, but these were people who kept secrets and who were, of course, heartbreakingly human.
This is a stunning story about the Lost Generation, about a marriage, about a golden age which could not last.
My Review:
I really loved Liza Klaussman's writing when I read Tigers in Red Weather a few years ago, and as soon as I started reading Villa America I was just as captivated with her characters and the story. Liza really knows how to bring her characters to life for readers and make you feel like you actually can see them in person. Klaussman's writing is beautiful and just takes hold of readers, for me I just want to stay in this world forever.
This story truly revolves around Sara and Gerald Murphy, and through them readers meet an eclectic group of people. They are all quite flawed in many ways, and yet that is what makes them so intriguing to read about. What I really loved about this book was how there is the addition of historical figures like Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, these two really add to the story. I loved seeing their relationship from a different perspective and it actually makes me want to go read Z, a novel of Zelda Fitgerald just to learn more about them.
Everyone has so much fun and it is all about partying and having a good time, but of course amidst all the fun there are many secrets laying about and slowly everything unravels and trouble is always around the corner. It is hard to guess what will happen next, and I love a book that has surprises around every corner. This is truly a book that gives us a look into an era that sounds like so much fun, yet it is one that obviously cannot last forever, there is too much trouble coming out of it.
I can absolutely say that I am a fan of Liza Klaussman's writing and the characters that she brings to life, I'm interested to know what her next work will be and what era she will bring to light for readers.
On top of this review, I am also offering a giveaway courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada of this book. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment! The giveaway will go until August 21st! And don't forget to check out the other blogs!!
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Buy From Chapters.ca / Buy From BookDepository.com
Goodreads Synopsis:
A dazzling novel set in the Cap D'Antibes based on the real-life inspirations for Fitzgerald's Tender is The Night.
In this gorgeous, glamorous, and affecting novel, Liza Klaussmann does for Sara and Gerald Murphy what Paula McLain and Michael Cunningham did for Ernest Hemingway and Virginia Woolf in The Paris Wife and The Hours. Villa America was in fact a real house on the French Riviera that Sara and Gerald Murphy built to escape to in the 1920's. Members of a group of expat Americans, they were known for their fabulous parties and for making the Riviera into the glamorous place it is today. Their freewheeling days were filled with champagne and caviar, but these were people who kept secrets and who were, of course, heartbreakingly human.
This is a stunning story about the Lost Generation, about a marriage, about a golden age which could not last.
My Review:
I really loved Liza Klaussman's writing when I read Tigers in Red Weather a few years ago, and as soon as I started reading Villa America I was just as captivated with her characters and the story. Liza really knows how to bring her characters to life for readers and make you feel like you actually can see them in person. Klaussman's writing is beautiful and just takes hold of readers, for me I just want to stay in this world forever.
This story truly revolves around Sara and Gerald Murphy, and through them readers meet an eclectic group of people. They are all quite flawed in many ways, and yet that is what makes them so intriguing to read about. What I really loved about this book was how there is the addition of historical figures like Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, these two really add to the story. I loved seeing their relationship from a different perspective and it actually makes me want to go read Z, a novel of Zelda Fitgerald just to learn more about them.
Everyone has so much fun and it is all about partying and having a good time, but of course amidst all the fun there are many secrets laying about and slowly everything unravels and trouble is always around the corner. It is hard to guess what will happen next, and I love a book that has surprises around every corner. This is truly a book that gives us a look into an era that sounds like so much fun, yet it is one that obviously cannot last forever, there is too much trouble coming out of it.
I can absolutely say that I am a fan of Liza Klaussman's writing and the characters that she brings to life, I'm interested to know what her next work will be and what era she will bring to light for readers.
On top of this review, I am also offering a giveaway courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada of this book. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment! The giveaway will go until August 21st! And don't forget to check out the other blogs!!
Awesome review! I have had my eye on this book for quite some time now. I love that the time period is so compelling and that there are cameos from the Fitzgeralds. I can't wait to read this one.
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