The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
jenleah's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5
This book just didn't capture my imagination. It wasn't poorly written and the storyline wasn't boring, but I just never felt excited by the story. The exception to this was the final pages and the author's note at the end. I was intrigued to learn that the characters were based on real people, though the events were completely fiction.
This book just didn't capture my imagination. It wasn't poorly written and the storyline wasn't boring, but I just never felt excited by the story. The exception to this was the final pages and the author's note at the end. I was intrigued to learn that the characters were based on real people, though the events were completely fiction.
ibebrie's review against another edition
3.0
I wouldn't quite put this novel in the "sad housewife novel" category, but there is something that seems so overdone. This novel, based on the life and times if the Von Gerter girls in the Paris opera is compelling in the same way Cinderella is compelling, you are happy for the happy ending, but part of you enjoys reading the suffering of the story to get to that point. The writing was good enough (although it really irritated me that to demonstrate that one of the sisters had no education she replaced doesn't with don't while keeping a whole manner of fancy words...it felt super forced). The author definitely had an ability to create intense imagery of 19th century impoverished Paris. Overall this book was good, but there wasn't really anything exceptional about it.
act_10's review against another edition
4.0
Read my review here!
http://areadersrapture.blogspot.ca/2014/09/the-painted-girls.html
http://areadersrapture.blogspot.ca/2014/09/the-painted-girls.html
geminiusa's review against another edition
4.0
Delicious writing. It all started with the sculpture of "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen" by Edgar Degas.
Weaving facts into a beautiful story of three sisters who at some point in their lives end up as students of the Paris Opera Ballet dance school.
With no way to support themselves after their father dies, and their mother being a drunk, the girls turn to what they can to survive in the late 1800's Paris.
Weaving facts into a beautiful story of three sisters who at some point in their lives end up as students of the Paris Opera Ballet dance school.
With no way to support themselves after their father dies, and their mother being a drunk, the girls turn to what they can to survive in the late 1800's Paris.
juliettearlette's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
nicolebonia's review against another edition
5.0
From Linus's Blanket Cathy Marie Buchanan captivated me with her first novel, The Day The Falls Stood Still, so I had high expectations for herThe Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan 215x323 Readings: Marmee and Louisa by Eve LaPlante & The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan follow-up novel The Painted Girls. I wasn’t disappointed. She chooses a fascinating angle for her novel of two sisters growing up in the desperate poverty of 19th century Paris.
There are three Van Goethem sisters, but Buchanan’s narrative alternates between the perspectives of the book smart Marie, who after being pulled from school after the death of their debt-ridden father, dutifully applies herself to the arduous training of a ballet dancer as a way to contribute to the family’s meager earnings, and Antoinette, the eldest of the girls. Antoinette does her best to protect her sisters from life’s harsh realities even as her own troubled romance and unrelenting deprivation force her to contemplate thievery and prostitution. Marie eventually gets a position posing for Degas, a rising artist of the time, and Antoinette finds work in the cast of a popular Zola adaptation. Both artist and writer are exploring the role of criminality and society through their works and are heavily influenced by Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso, a man who posits that destiny is determined by facial structure, and heavy animal like features are indicative of criminality and vice – features Marie fretfully worries over in her own face.
Buchanan is a skilled weaver of history into the realities of everyday life and she outdoes herself here. Paris, that famed City of Light, comes to life vividly through the smells on the streets, the meanness of its people, the filth of their clothes and the desperation of their toil. It is clear that girls have it worse, and the Van Goethem sisters embody how few the choices and opportunities available to women who would try to better their circumstances or to merely escape their poverty – the cost often being their innocence and respectability. Buchanan excels at showcasing the girl’s distinctive personalities, voice, and approach to life. Each of their narratives are both compelling and heartbreaking and as close as if either of them was whispering her story in your ear. The Painted Girl has elements of mystery – a rash of gruesome murders has been committed, and the unease of the city is palpable – but mostly it is an exquisitely rendered love story between these sisters, and the sacrifices they make to ease each others burdens while striving to better their lives in a world where the odds are highly stacked against them. Highly Recommended.
There are three Van Goethem sisters, but Buchanan’s narrative alternates between the perspectives of the book smart Marie, who after being pulled from school after the death of their debt-ridden father, dutifully applies herself to the arduous training of a ballet dancer as a way to contribute to the family’s meager earnings, and Antoinette, the eldest of the girls. Antoinette does her best to protect her sisters from life’s harsh realities even as her own troubled romance and unrelenting deprivation force her to contemplate thievery and prostitution. Marie eventually gets a position posing for Degas, a rising artist of the time, and Antoinette finds work in the cast of a popular Zola adaptation. Both artist and writer are exploring the role of criminality and society through their works and are heavily influenced by Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso, a man who posits that destiny is determined by facial structure, and heavy animal like features are indicative of criminality and vice – features Marie fretfully worries over in her own face.
Buchanan is a skilled weaver of history into the realities of everyday life and she outdoes herself here. Paris, that famed City of Light, comes to life vividly through the smells on the streets, the meanness of its people, the filth of their clothes and the desperation of their toil. It is clear that girls have it worse, and the Van Goethem sisters embody how few the choices and opportunities available to women who would try to better their circumstances or to merely escape their poverty – the cost often being their innocence and respectability. Buchanan excels at showcasing the girl’s distinctive personalities, voice, and approach to life. Each of their narratives are both compelling and heartbreaking and as close as if either of them was whispering her story in your ear. The Painted Girl has elements of mystery – a rash of gruesome murders has been committed, and the unease of the city is palpable – but mostly it is an exquisitely rendered love story between these sisters, and the sacrifices they make to ease each others burdens while striving to better their lives in a world where the odds are highly stacked against them. Highly Recommended.
maplekelly's review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Addiction, and Alcohol
I thought it was interesting to learn about the life of "petits rats" although it was shocking.rjmcewan's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Enjoyed it, fascinated to read the real events, but it wasn't a "wow" book.
avelee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75