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The Beautiful American (2014)

by Jeanne MacKin(Favorite Author)

3.91 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0451465822 (ISBN13: 9780451465825)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

NAL Trade

review 1: I don't get to read as much as I'd like, so when I read something bad I'm angrier at it than I probably should be. That being said, this was a poorly written, poorly constructed novel based on the life of an American model and muse of Man Ray in Paris in the 20s and 30s. I could tell that the author very much wanted this book to be the Paris Wife, but it fell far short. It barely held my interest and will probably be forgotten but the time I hit 'save' on this review.
review 2: This novel is a must-read for those who are fans of Lee Miller, her amazing photographs, and her forward-looking feminist life. Which, judging from the reviews on here, is not that many people. So thanks to Jeanne Mackin for bringing Lee's story back to life. Mackin's interesting deci... moresion is to tell her story from the point-of-view of a sideline--and invented--character, an expat who has known Lee since her childhood in Poughkeepsie. The quiet, modest Nora makes an excellent foil for bigger-than-life Lee. And Nora's talent--she is a "nose," exquisitely perceptive about scent and a perfume expert--makes for a fascinating contrast with art and photography. Photographs last; scents, Nora is quick to tell us, shouldn't. So the novel winds up being a smart, sensitive portrait about how we make art, versus how we live a life, especially in times of crisis. I had some quibbles with particular portraits, but this won't bother anyone who isn't deeply, irritatingly familiar with the cast of characters and the "real story." less

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