A vivid novel of Charles Baudelaire and his lover Jeanne Duval, the Haitian cabaret singer who inspired his most famous and controversial poems, set in nineteenth-century Paris.
For readers who have been drawn to The Paris Wife, Black Venuscaptures the artistic scene in the great French city decades earlier, when the likes of Dumas and Balzac argued literature in the cafes of the Left Bank. Among the bohemians, the young Charles Baudelaire stood out—dressed impeccably thanks to an inheritance that was quickly vanishing. Still at work on the poems that he hoped would make his name, he spent his nights enjoying the alcohol, opium, and women who filled the seedy streets of the city.
One woman would catch his eye—a beautiful Haitian cabaret singer named Jeanne Duval. Their lives would remain forever intertwined thereafter, and their romance would inspire his most infamous poems—leading to the banning of his masterwork, Les Fleurs du Mal, and a scandalous public trial for obscenity.
James MacManus’s Black Venus re-creates the classic Parisian literary world in vivid detail, complete with not just an affecting portrait of the famous poet but also his often misunderstood, much-maligned muse.
My Thoughts:
I have to say I ran hot and cold with this book. I found the characters memorable but all unlikable. They were all quite shallow, which I believe MacManus intended. The descriptions of the grittier side of Paris, France in the 19th century were great. However, I found the plot lacking and the pace boring in many places in the book.
When I was approached to review this book, I jumped at the chance. The description made it sound so good. However, for me, it was disappointing. I did preserver and finished reading it but there were times I thought it really wasn’t worth it. Something kept me reading and it was like waiting for a train wreak to happen. So, was there a train wreak in the end? My lips are sealed in case anyone reading this decides to give Black Venus a try.
3/5
I received an ebook copy of this book for my honest opinion.
Watch the Black Venus Promo:
About James MacManus:
James MacManus, who was born in London, began his career with The Guardian
first as a reporter in the London office and then as a foreign correspondent in France, Africa and the Middle East. Following a position on the diplomatic staff of the Daily Telegraph in London, he joined TheTimes, eventually rising to Managing Editor then Managing Director of The Times Literary Supplement. In 2006 his first screenplay became the major motion picture, The Children of Huang Shi, and in 2010 his critically acclaimed first novel, Language of the Sea, made its debut.
Thanks to Veronica Grossman of Meryl L. Moss Media Relation, Inc., I am giving away one copy of Black Venus. Sorry, this giveaway is for the U.S. only and ends on June 5, 2013. Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.
Thanks to Staci Burt of Wunderkind PR, I am giving away one copy of Elizabeth The First Wife.
Book Description:
Elizabeth Lancaster, an English professor at Pasadena City College, fills her days with books, tending her garden and growing her collection of European comfort shoes. But that all changes when her ex-husband and A-list action movie star FX Fahey unexpectedly shows up with a job offer that she can’t refuse. Now, instead of grading papers, Elizabeth packs for a summer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where her role is to provide artistic support and make sure FX doesn’t humiliate himself in an avant-garde production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s house sitter back in Pasadena is her Congressman brother-in-law’s dreamy chief of staff, whose calls regarding how to work the washing machine and stovetop slowly cross the line into much more personal territory.
Witty, relatable and incredibly funny, ELIZABETH THE FIRST WIFE is about the unexpected turns that life sometimes takes and how one woman handles those turns with the cynical humor and unfaltering poise of a Shakespearean heroine.
Excerpt:
This is where the class gets good, I thought. Where I, Elizabeth Lancaster, community college English teacher and theater enthusiast, feel most in my element. “Okay, let’s do this. Let’s read it together, Nico. You and me. Like I always say, Shakespeare’s words are meant to be spoken, not studied at arm’s length. It’s living, breathing dialogue. And in this scene, the sexist pig is trying to convince the cold-hearted be-yotch that the sun is actually the moon. It’s his way of exerting power, and she is employing her own manipulative techniques to shut him down. Raise your hand if you’ve done this in your own relationships. Who’s played mind games in a romantic relationship?”
All the hands went up except Sahil’s, whose closest personal relationship has probably been with his PlayStation controller. “That’s what I thought. Get up, Nico. You’re Petruchio and I’m Kate. Let’s go.”
He heaved his squat body out of the chair, as his classmates hooted. His buddy from high school, Aron, hissed, “Duuude.” Nico’s reluctance was skin deep. He was a ham at heart. “Please, don’t make me do this.”
I took a swig of Diet Coke and did my best faux-ghetto “Oh, it’s on.” The students whooped, like I knew they would.
Nico began haltingly, adding several more syllables than in the original. “Come on, a’ God’s name. Once more, um, um, toward our father’s. Good Lord, how bright and goodly shines the moon!” He inserted a dramatic hand gesture for emphasis, then gave me a triumphant look.
Oh, it was on. I tapped into my Inner Shrew, which wasn’t hard. I was a single, mid-30s woman with emerging bunions, a leaking roof, and a love life that had been in decline since the early Aughts. Not to mention that I had a mother who kept setting me up with every divorced dad in Pasadena and a sister who insisted I needed to keep “putting myself out there” even though she has no idea how rough it is “out there.” Why couldn’t they just leave me alone with my books, my vegetable garden, and my growing collection of European comfort shoes? I happened to like my life. Why didn’t my family? Oh, yes, at that particularly moment in time, I was feeling extremely shrewish. Watch out, Nico. “The moon! The sun—it is not light now.”
Nico rose to the challenge, playing his Petruchio with a touch of Jersey Shore. “I say it is the moon that shines so bright.”
The classroom door cracked as it opened. I didn’t bother to turn to see who’d arrived thirty minutes late to class. Besides, the audible gasp from a dozen young women told me it was Jordan. He was easily the best-looking boy in the room and a star baseball player who was hoping for a decent transfer offer. Jordan slid in late most days, hoping for attendance credit and a chance to flirt with Shiree. But I paid no attention to the rumble from the other students, because I was in the zone. “I know it is the sun that shines so bright.”
Nico’s jaw dropped open, apparently stunned silent by my confidence. But the scene wasn’t nearly over, so I gave him the universal “it’s your turn” sign with my hands. He stammered, unable to get out the next line. And then I heard the next lines come from behind me. “Now by my mother’s son, and that’s myself, It shall be the moon, or star, or what I list…”
I turned to face the owner of the familiar voice. Good God, just what I needed.
No wonder the girls gasped. There, resplendent in jeans and a black T-shirt that probably cost more than my car, was Francis Fahey. Or as the world knew him, FX Fahey, the third-highest-grossing action star behind Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise. His “Icarus” franchise had spawned video games, fast food tie-ins, and a legion of fans that believed the laid-back actor to actually be the futuristic cop hero. Clearly, FX was used to being the center of attention, and he owned the classroom the minute he entered. He strode up the center aisle, grinning effortlessly, like he was just returning from the grocery store with a six-pack of beer instead of invading my workplace after a decade of no face-to-face contact. Oh, he was enjoying the moment. “Or ere I journey to your father’s house. Go on and fetch our horses back again. Evermore cross’d and cross’d, nothing but cross’d.”
About Lian Dolan:
Lian Dolan is a writer, producer, talk show host, podcast pioneer and social media consultant. She writes the blog and produces the weekly podcast “The Chaos Chronicles,” a humorous look at modern motherhood. She writes for Oprah.com as a parenting expert.
A decade ago, Lian created Satellite Sisters, an award-winning talk show, blog and website, with her four real sisters. Her writing has appeared in many national magazines, including regular columns in O, The Oprah Magazine and Working Mother and essays in such anthologies as Chicken Soup for the Sister’s Soul. TV appearances have included The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. She is a popular speaker for groups and corporations, always using humor as hook. Her previous books include Helen of Pasadena and The Satellite Sisters’ Uncommon Senses.
This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada only and ends on May 30, 2013. Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing (January 22, 2013) Category: Women’s Fiction, Literary Fiction, Relationships, Touching on supernatural Tour Date: Mid May, 2013 Available in: eBook, 180 pages
Sometimes the ties that bind people together can also tear them apart. In FINDING LILY, first-time novelist Lisa D. Ellis explores that delicate balance that exists in all relationships and tries to find meaning in a world that is sometimes kind and sometimes harsh.
Her narrator Claire, who is reeling after the unexpected loss of a newborn baby Lily, walks the fine line between love, loss, heartache and healing. Unable to cope with her grief, which seems magnified by her husband Jim’s colder coping style, Claire leaves Jim behind and runs away to live in a lighthouse she had fallen in love with as a child.
At first all Claire wants is an escape but slowly, the lighthouse sheds new light on her situation and helps her re-imagine her life in a new way, sometimes with her feet on the ground and sometimes lifting up beyond the boundaries of reality to help her reconnect with Lily. Claire’s memorable journey to the lighthouse — and back again — is a story of hope and of possibility.
Readers will fall in love with Claire and with the rich images and rhythmic tones that Ellis masterfully weaves from the very first page through to the satisfying conclusion of FINDING LILY.
My Thoughts:
Claire brought forth emotions in me I didn’t know I had. That of a mother losing her child. Lily had a very short life as an infant and both Lily and her husband, Jim grieve for their loss. However, Jim feels very cold and distant to Claire, she wants him to share his feeling but he can’t.
Claire decides to go stay at the lighthouse where her and Jim met to try to work through her grief along. She had always been drawn to the lighthouse since she was a little girl and it called for her to live there for awhile.
Claire met some interesting characters while living at the lighthouse but most of the time she was alone, so this book was mostly narrative. I usually prefer a lot of character interaction however, the structure of Finding Lily worked well for me despite that. Claire had to be alone to work through her feelings and to find a way to say goodbye to Lily.
I found Finding Lily to be a refreshing change of pace to challenge me on what I may do if I were in Claire’s position. It was suprising to me how much the narative style drew me in. I commend Lisa Ellis for the well written story and hopes she keeps working at her craft. I highly recommend Finding Lily!
5/5
This ebook was sent to me for my honest review.
About Lisa Ellis:
Lisa Ellis is a writer whose short fiction has appeared in a number of literary journals and magazines. FINDING LILY is her first novel. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Boston University and provides health content regularly for hospitals and websites in New England and the tri-state area.
Thanks to Lisa Ellis, we are giving away 3 ebook copies of the book. This giveaway is open internationally and ends on June 8th. Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.
