Reviews

Doamna de la Ritz by Melanie Benjamin

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jlburck's review against another edition

4.0

I guessed the plot twist about 1/4 of the way through the book, but still enjoyed it, especially after I found out that the main characters are based on actual people. I appreciated the attention to detail of the hotel as a setting and it really felt like a character in the book.

hokiegal2k's review against another edition

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4.0

I have been reading more historical fiction lately, and I really enjoyed Mistress of the Ritz. I was not aware of the Ritz’s history during WWII so this was informative enough to make me want to do a little more research into the topic. In the Author’s Note, Ms. Benjamin mentions that the Auzello’s were very much a real couple and that she was able to gather as many facts as she could while filling in some pretty big gaps. The story moved between Claude and Blanche really well; the pacing was good without feeling like you were starting and stopping between transitions. I like that the reader is given both of their perspectives on major events and turning points. It is hard to give too many details, for fear of spoiling some of the story, but this is definitely a book worth reading. The intensity of the story had me seeking out any moments I could in order to finish the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

dianethelen's review against another edition

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5.0

It took me forever to read this book but that was entirely on me. Every time I picked it up I loved it, life just kept getting in the way of reading it. It was very well written and I really enjoyed learning about these characters/people and their lives.

topdragon's review against another edition

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3.0

Having read and enjoyed Melanie Benjamin’s [b:The Girls in the Picture|34748722|The Girls in the Picture|Melanie Benjamin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1500736872s/34748722.jpg|55941281], I was excited to dive into this novel as well. I’ve wanted to learn more about the days of the German occupation of Paris during WWII and to have the setting include the famous Ritz hotel is definitely enticing.

The novel revolves around two main characters, Claude and Blanche Auzello, both real-life historical people. Claude is the manager of the Hotel Ritz in Paris while Blanche is his American wife whom he has married after a short whirlwind romance. Herein lies a major problem I had with the book. The entire first half of the novel is mostly about their rocky relationship. The author jumps back in forth in time, relating the here-and-now of 1940s Paris (in present tense) and then jumping back to the 1920’s during Claude and Blanche’s early years (in past tense). This was a bit jarring to me, switching tenses and time frames constantly. But I could still deal with this OK if it weren’t for the way these two characters were portrayed. Neither one is likable; Claude is the prim and proper Parisian with a mistress on the side and simply can’t understand American women. Blanche seems like a smart lady but does stupid things over and over, even while soaking up as much glamour and glitz as she can. She has a secret which, unfortunately is foreshadowed a bit too heavily, and therefore not a big surprise when the big reveal comes later. Neither one of these two can communicate with the other, and I kept wanting to hit them over the head as I plowed through this book.

The second half of the novel starts to pick up the pace as we finally start to get involved with the French underground activities that were promised on the cover blurbs. Even so, this is mostly just talked about, rather than allowing us readers to participate in anything—another disappointment for me. We hear about all of these famous people that stayed or even lived at the Ritz, people like Hemingway, Picasso, Hermann Göring, etc. Only Coco Chanel had any kind of active role and even it was very minor. Rather than utilize these characters it came across as mere name dropping.

The final 10% or so of this novel rose to the level I was hoping for in the entire book and is the only reason I am granting three stars instead of two. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. War is Hell, even for those not in battle. It affects everybody and it certainly affects Claude and Blanche. Here, finally, we get the brutal impact of how the occupation impacted this couple, the Hotel Ritz, and, indeed, the city of Paris. The true love story finally comes out. It is a wonderful finale to a mediocre novel. The author can write well and has a proven track record of quality works. But here, as she said in the postscript, she was attempting something a little new for her. Whereas Claude and Blanche were real people, there isn’t much known about them. The author had to fill in a lot of blanks. As she says, rather than writing a book based on real people and events, this one is “inspired” by them.

So in the end, this was a frustrating read for me. It holds lots of potential, but most of it remains unrealized.

toebean5's review against another edition

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1.0

I really, really did not like this book. For the following reasons:

1. Each chapter jumps back and forth to different time periods. This is a device that I don't usually mind- it can offer parallel perspectives, show cause-and-effect, and otherwise serve an important function. This was not the case here. It felt messy and scattered and like it needed editing to make sense or serve a purpose.

2. The really terrible, volatile/abusive relationship that we're supposed to look upon as a romance. Again, I groan when people say "I didn't like the characters"- because some of the most well-written characters are reprehensible. But the scene at Maxim's? Are you serious, Blanche?? And this was a couple who didn't seem to even like each other, much less trust or communicate with one another. And if the ending is historically accurate (and it seems to be?), then I almost feel like the author tried to justify a murder/suicide. Like... no. This was not a romantic relationship. It felt like it was enforcing that idea of abuse and passion can be the same thing. I don't like that.

3. I was absolutely shocked to realize that we were supposed to be surprised that Blanche was Jewish. Uh... this was hinted at, like, every 5 pages; we are not dumb. We got it.

4. It was about 100 pages too long. Seriously- the history of the story was fascinating, and the Ritz itself had so much interesting going for it. So... why wasn't more time spent on those parts, and less on Blanche and Claude arguing, and anything to do with Lily.

5. Lily. Just... everything about Lily.

So this is that rare book that I disliked so much I can't even pick it for the book discussion group. I had all of the copies gathered and everything, but after reading it- I just can't do it. To them, or to myself again.

adreaminaqua's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 stars! It took me awhile to get into this one. It was slow for the first 3/4th of the book but then it picked up some. It felt like Claude and Blanches’s relationship was the main character, followed by the Ritz and then maybe Paris. Reading the acknowledgments and Author’s Note made it all come together for me though (so if you normally skip those, I wouldn’t on this one!). I didn’t realize they were real people and while a whole lot isn’t known about the real characters, this feels like a pretty good fit. I didn’t dislike this book, but I found it hard to trudge through at points when the dialogue and plot didn’t seem to love it forward any. I’ve read my fair share of WWII historical novels and while I wouldn’t place this in my top list, I wouldn’t count it out, either.