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Paris Red A Novel Maureen Gibbon Books

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Paris Red A Novel Maureen Gibbon Books

After reading all the fabulous publicity from well-known writers, magazines, reviewers, NPR -- claiming this book was "sensuous" "luminous" a literary and erotic "masterpiece" no less. etc.etc., I was expecting something spectacular. Unfortunately, it just doesn't live up to this marketing hyperbole. Characterization, Plot, Setting are ignored -- the author stakes everything on her minimalist style, on her opening line "That day I am 17 and I am wearing the boots of a whore" -- and the narrator's tough talking voice and her autoerotic obsession with her own body and its effect on Manet. Granted, such obsessions may have played a realistic part in the psyche of a modele de profession in the times of Manet --but by making this the core of the book, the author reduces Victorine to a kind of cartoon who thinks exclusively about sex . Victorine Meurent was actually a very interesting woman -- she became an artist herself and even briefly enjoyed a bit of fame and even rivalry with the man for whom she had posed. She also lived to be eighty while he died at 51 of syphilis, (which some scholars suggest might be proof that they did not have a physical relationship, since she never seems to have developed the disease). The author includes some frank details in some of the sex scenes which don't really enhance them and which some of the other readers here found distasteful. I won't comment on that, but I will say that I thought it odd that given the many sex scenes in the book and the narrator's informing us how much she wants it, there doesn't seem to be any pleasure in it - she doesn't seem to be enjoying it much. That may be intentional on the part of the author, to show us a person who is primarily an object and as presented here, the victim of a patronizing system. Another thing that struck me though was that the key to the real Victorine's personality wasn't sex drive but ambition - that ambition, clothed in her beauty and fired along by her strong instincts, intelligence and independence, are what allowed her to change her destiny, ending up on the other side of the easel. From Gibbon's book, we don't get much sense of what must have been a complex personality.


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Paris Red A Novel Maureen Gibbon Books Reviews

dont know how much of the story was factual but it certainly was fascinating to learn about the model and the painter. unusual in presentation of an era as well as a famous artist and his muse.
Fascinating. Well written. Good reading.
This erotic story was interesting; however, I often felt the erotic part was overdone. I felt myself wanting more substance to the story. It is hard to believe a relationship revolved around sex. Also, Manet died from syphilis making it once again hard to believe. Manet's muse lived a healthy life. I suppose this was a good fantasy.
Experiencing Manet's painting from the viewpoint of the model was fascinating' and I enjoyed Victoria's story. It was great that Mandy treated her well and paid her. Victoria's point of view did not show us the genius behind Mandy or much about him. I would have loved more from him to understand his life more. Either by including his point of view of more insight from victoire.
Gibbon's has captured an artist's eye and the internal thinking of a serious artist in her novel!

She is able to convey deep feelings and emotions to her reader and also engage all the senses with her words.

I admire her writing and how she conveys the senses through it. The love of color is apparent in her characterizations in Paris Red. The relationships become real and very thoughtful in provoking a reaction as I read about them. She used her characters well and also the city of Paris. The touches of French language made me pause and think about the meaning behind them. Culture and time period are weaved into the story about an artist and his model. The model's reflection about his painted canvases and his use of colors made it very authentic in an artistic realm. The last painting of her seems to lead into a serious evolution in the artist's career. There could be another installment of this story and the characters presented here.

I am looking forward to reading a new novel from Gibbons.
I enjoyed reading this book. To begin it took me to a place and time I knew very little about. I also never thought about what kind of woman
worked as a model for those amazing artists. This book gives you a very interesting view of the women and the lives they led. I liked the
main character very much and I was glad to know that she was paid a decent enough wage to live in a clean, comfortable room and be able to
to enjoy life's pleasures. Yes, there was a lot of sex but I felt it was tastefully written about and in only a few cases was it descriptively graphic.
I don't see how the character development could have been done without the sex and even the graphic description. To me Victorine is a very interesting
character. What I particularly liked is how complete a description of her thoughts and her resulting actions the writer gives you. I regret that
there were instances where the comments and conversations were written in French. I do not speak any French and I felt that I was missing
some vital pieces of the story. The only thing I found unsatisfactory about reading this story is that it was so short. I don't like reading short
stories, I like to enjoy the company of the various characters for longer periods of time. This one slipped by as I usually check how many pages
are in a book and automatically skip the short ones. I forgot to check for with this one and I am not sorry I did. I enjoyed my short visit with
Victorine and will look for similar books.
After reading all the fabulous publicity from well-known writers, magazines, reviewers, NPR -- claiming this book was "sensuous" "luminous" a literary and erotic "masterpiece" no less. etc.etc., I was expecting something spectacular. Unfortunately, it just doesn't live up to this marketing hyperbole. Characterization, Plot, Setting are ignored -- the author stakes everything on her minimalist style, on her opening line "That day I am 17 and I am wearing the boots of a whore" -- and the narrator's tough talking voice and her autoerotic obsession with her own body and its effect on Manet. Granted, such obsessions may have played a realistic part in the psyche of a modele de profession in the times of Manet --but by making this the core of the book, the author reduces Victorine to a kind of cartoon who thinks exclusively about sex . Victorine Meurent was actually a very interesting woman -- she became an artist herself and even briefly enjoyed a bit of fame and even rivalry with the man for whom she had posed. She also lived to be eighty while he died at 51 of syphilis, (which some scholars suggest might be proof that they did not have a physical relationship, since she never seems to have developed the disease). The author includes some frank details in some of the sex scenes which don't really enhance them and which some of the other readers here found distasteful. I won't comment on that, but I will say that I thought it odd that given the many sex scenes in the book and the narrator's informing us how much she wants it, there doesn't seem to be any pleasure in it - she doesn't seem to be enjoying it much. That may be intentional on the part of the author, to show us a person who is primarily an object and as presented here, the victim of a patronizing system. Another thing that struck me though was that the key to the real Victorine's personality wasn't sex drive but ambition - that ambition, clothed in her beauty and fired along by her strong instincts, intelligence and independence, are what allowed her to change her destiny, ending up on the other side of the easel. From Gibbon's book, we don't get much sense of what must have been a complex personality.