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Loving Modigliani: The Afterlife of Jeanne Hébuterne
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Amedeo Modigliani, embittered and unrecognized genius, dies of meningitis on a cold January day in Montparnasse in 1920. Jeanne Hébuterne, his young wife and muse, follows 48 hours later, falling backwards through a window. Now a ghost, Jeanne drifts about the studio she shared with Modigliani—for she was not only his favorite model, but also an artist whose works were lat
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Paperback, 347 pages
Published
December 15th 2020
by Serving House Books
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Start your review of Loving Modigliani: The Afterlife of Jeanne Hébuterne

Loving Modigliani is one of those books that is so good that I don’t feel my review will do it justice. It is so good that I stopped halfway through and bought it in print version because I only had an electronic copy. I always keep print copies of my favorite books. It is so good that I didn’t want to put it down, and I was sad when it was finished. This is my humble attempt at a review and my bow to an accomplished author, Linda Lappin, who has woven together a remarkable piece of fiction base
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Where to start describing this exquisite book? Loving Modigliani floored me. The novel imagines the life of the little-known artist Jeanne Hébuterne, common-law wife to her better-known partner, the artist Amedeo Modigliani. As the title suggests, it does so largely from the perspective of Jeanne after her death, along with those who would preserve her legacy, for reasons both personal and historic.
The novel was both wildly imaginative and painstakingly researched, a balance I imagine is hard to ...more
The novel was both wildly imaginative and painstakingly researched, a balance I imagine is hard to ...more

This narrative is based on a real person Jeanne Hébuterne, the 'wife' of Amedeo Modigliani, an Italian Jewish painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. His nickname is Modi.
Jeanne Hébuterne was a French artist best known as the frequent subject and common-law wife of the artist Amedeo Modigliani. She took her own life two days after Modigliani died, and is now buried beside him. They both died in 1920.
I initially became interested in this book because my favorite genre is historical fict ...more
Jeanne Hébuterne was a French artist best known as the frequent subject and common-law wife of the artist Amedeo Modigliani. She took her own life two days after Modigliani died, and is now buried beside him. They both died in 1920.
I initially became interested in this book because my favorite genre is historical fict ...more

With twists and turns at every step, this is a don’t-miss-it historical mystery!
When her husband and mentor, renowned painter, Amedeo Modigliani, dies after a short but brutal illness, Jeanne, 21 and pregnant with their second child jumps out of a window of her parents’ Parisian flat two days later and also dies. As a spirit, she tries to reunite with Modi but eventually ends up returning to the apartment and studio they shared, where she watches people she knew remove her things, even discoveri
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What a delight, while weathering an extended home-stay that has kept me healthy but restless and consumed by an unfulfilled desire for travel, to get a chance to read Loving Modigliani! Linda Lappin’s new novel examines the complicated real and imagined aftermaths of the 1920 death of the artist Jeanne Hébuterne, lover and wife of the painter, Amadeo Modigliani. Little known at the time of her fatal fall from a window two days after Modigliani’s own demise from tuberculosis, Hébuterne has since
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I was fortunate to read this book when still in the galley form. Let me say it now, I loved this book.
This is an ambitious read, vivid and imaginative. The poetic language is so compelling I read it through the early morning hours. For any reader who loves art and the story of Modigliani in addition to passionate love, you will find yourself absorbed in this imaginary world filled with moments that I found so authentic and hair raising. For me, it was one of those books that leaves a great sadne ...more
This is an ambitious read, vivid and imaginative. The poetic language is so compelling I read it through the early morning hours. For any reader who loves art and the story of Modigliani in addition to passionate love, you will find yourself absorbed in this imaginary world filled with moments that I found so authentic and hair raising. For me, it was one of those books that leaves a great sadne ...more

Part ghost story, part murder mystery, and part treasure hunt, Linda Lappin's Loving Modigliani is a haunting, genre-bending novel.
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Propping open the doors of intrigue, there's a triangle of light that reveals the romanticized mystique of the relationship between artist Amedeo Modigliani and Jeanne Hebuterne. There's a triad of sorts that Lappin applies as a vehicle to explain the passion of Jeanne Hebuterne, as this is her story and Modigliani only exists as a flickering candle, whisps of smoke reminding us he was there. And that is okay because what is explored is Hebuterne in life, and then her death that feels like you'v
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Linda Lappin’s Loving Modigliani tells the story of the life and afterlife of Jeanne Hébuterne, who was Modigliani’s common-law wife - and a talented budding artist in her own right.
We meet Jeanne in 1920, when she falls from a window just days after Modigliani dies of consumption. From there, we follow her into the afterlife, transcending space and time as she angrily watches family and acquaintances pick over her possessions, then crosses into a world of the dead, where she begins a long and a ...more
We meet Jeanne in 1920, when she falls from a window just days after Modigliani dies of consumption. From there, we follow her into the afterlife, transcending space and time as she angrily watches family and acquaintances pick over her possessions, then crosses into a world of the dead, where she begins a long and a ...more

We are with nineteen-year-old Jeanne Hébuterne as she falls to her death, just days after her lover, the artist Modigliani, dies. It is a brutal death and together with her trapped spirit we witness the horror on her family’s faces as they see her crumpled, broken body in the courtyard of their Parisian apartment.
As Jeanne comes to terms with what she has done, we are with her as she takes her first steps in the afterlife, desperate to do all she can to be reunited with her beloved Modi. With ...more
As Jeanne comes to terms with what she has done, we are with her as she takes her first steps in the afterlife, desperate to do all she can to be reunited with her beloved Modi. With ...more

This book was a wild run.
It begins when Jeanne Hebuterne committed suicide on January 26, 1920 two days after her husband, Amedeo Modigliani died from a long illness of tuberculosis. She was 10 months pregnant with her second child and couldn't bear to live without him as she jumped out of a window. What's different is that in the beginning of the book, Jeanne is witnessing what has happened in the afterlife. A thin thread connects her ghost self to her body as she takes a glimpse of her life.
J ...more
It begins when Jeanne Hebuterne committed suicide on January 26, 1920 two days after her husband, Amedeo Modigliani died from a long illness of tuberculosis. She was 10 months pregnant with her second child and couldn't bear to live without him as she jumped out of a window. What's different is that in the beginning of the book, Jeanne is witnessing what has happened in the afterlife. A thin thread connects her ghost self to her body as she takes a glimpse of her life.
J ...more

Loving Modigliani: The Afterlife of Jeanne Hébuterne is an interesting read. It is the first I have read by Linda Lappin. She has proven to me that she is a very talented at weaving such a wonderful tale. I was fascinated with this story right from the start. After reading it, I had to search to find out more about Jeanne Hébuterne. Such a captivating character in real life.
Loving Modigliani: The Afterlife of Jeanne Hébuterne is getting a very well deserved five plus stars from me. I highly rec ...more
Loving Modigliani: The Afterlife of Jeanne Hébuterne is getting a very well deserved five plus stars from me. I highly rec ...more

From BonjourParis.com -- editorial review by M. Mullins
When the lead character dies on page one, somehow you know a ghost must be waiting in the wings.
The protagonist of Linda Lappin’s new novel is Jeanne Hébuterne—artist, model and common-law wife of the brilliant and wild Amedeo Modigliani...
There are many things to like about this novel. If you’re longing to visit Paris, but can’t travel due to COVID-19 restrictions, this book will not only take you there, but will also bring alive the stre ...more
When the lead character dies on page one, somehow you know a ghost must be waiting in the wings.
The protagonist of Linda Lappin’s new novel is Jeanne Hébuterne—artist, model and common-law wife of the brilliant and wild Amedeo Modigliani...
There are many things to like about this novel. If you’re longing to visit Paris, but can’t travel due to COVID-19 restrictions, this book will not only take you there, but will also bring alive the stre ...more
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Making Connections: 5971. Loving Modigliani : The Afterlife of Jeanne Hebuterne by Linda Lappin | 11 | 25 | Dec 17, 2020 07:57AM | |
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Linda Lappin is a prize-winning poet, novelist, travel writer, literary translator and writing teacher who divides her time between Italy and the USA. She has published four novels, The Etruscan, Katherine’s Wish, Signatures in Stone, which won the 2014 Daphne Du Maurier Award for mystery writing, and Loving Modigliani: The Afterlife of Jeanne Hébuterne. (2020)
Her creative writing book: The Soul o ...more
Her creative writing book: The Soul o ...more
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