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The Muse of Edouard Manet

M. Clifford

Start date: October 11, 2011

Finish date: October 19, 2011

Why we're reading this: This is one of the most captivating, rich and amazing stories I've ever read. I am completely taken with …more
[close] This is one of the most captivating, rich and amazing stories I've ever read. I am completely taken with it and cannot think of anything else. The characters are well-crafted and the content is well-researched and the plot is well-formed. Highly recommended to anyone and everyone. This book has it all and I don't even know what genre to label it. A breathtakingly amazing story.

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Sep 22, 2011 LilaBird rated it it was amazing

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If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would. It's rare that you find one of those special books that just stays with you. A book that gets right into your heart and makes a home for itself. A story that you dream about each night after reading and characters you find yourself believing are real friends you know and love. The Muse of Edouard Manet is one of those rare, books we readers long to find. It is tender and romantic and thrilling and exciting. There is adventure and action; intr If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would. It's rare that you find one of those special books that just stays with you. A book that gets right into your heart and makes a home for itself. A story that you dream about each night after reading and characters you find yourself believing are real friends you know and love. The Muse of Edouard Manet is one of those rare, books we readers long to find. It is tender and romantic and thrilling and exciting. There is adventure and action; intrigue and suspense. The characters are deep and evolved. It makes me sad to realize that they're not in the "real" world. I know them so intimately. How could they not be real? I've loved with them and laughed with them, been scared with them and fought with them. I have never been more satisfied with a book.

The premise to the story is fantastic in and of itself. Emily Porterfield, a young woman of about 30 years, works in the Paintings Conservation Department at the Art Institute in Chicago. Her main job is to x-ray paintings. As she's performing her job in preparation for an exhibit of Edouard Manet's paintings, she discovers a letter painted beneath the layers of paint on one of his pieces. It's mysterious and she doesn't know what to make of it, but the mystery has only just begun. That night she falls and is knocked unconscious. While she is out, she finds herself transported back to Paris in the 1860's, where she meets none other than Manet himself as a young man. As she continues to find more letters beneath the paintings during her days at the museum, her nights are filled with trips to see the young artist. They form a relationship that's forged beyond the bounds of time. One that will sweep you away and make you long for it to happen to you.

My favorite character, Garrett Keller, lives in Emily's current day life. He works at the museum on a fellowship and becomes Emily's confidant regarding her nighttime time travel adventures. Garrett's keen sense of logic and understanding of art and history make him the perfect helper for her, because Emily needs to decipher Manet's strange iconography within his paintings as well. Garrett is sarcastic and messy; always unshaven with desk drawers full of crazy scribblings and cans of Hawaiian punch -- just my type. But he's also highly intelligent, inventive, sneaky and has a load of common sense. He's one of my favorite characters of all time. Something about him is just magnetic and sexy as hell.

As the story progresses, we are given doses of things like art theft, forgery, murder, chases, fires and even a 19th century duel. The amazing thing about this book is that almost every aspect of this novel is based in fact. Obviously there's no time travel and the characters themselves are fictitious, but all of the information about Manet and art and the locations and the things that happened in Manet's life, etc. are all real. You can tell when you're reading this that the author (M. Clifford) really did his research. Every page is dripping with authenticity. For me, that is a rare occurrence and something that makes reading so much more enjoyable.

I give this book my HIGHEST recommendation. I believe this book is versatile enough that every single reader could find something in it that resonates with them personally and a reason why they love it. I know I will treasure this book forever and that I will re-read it many, many times in my future. I actually can't wait to start again soon. I already miss my friends and want to be back in their world. ...more

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