Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Painted Girls was not quite what I expected. I didn’t dislike it, but I wasn’t completely enthralled with it either…
The book follows Marie and Antoinette van Goethem as they struggle to survive in Paris in the 1800s. With their father dead, their mother spending her meager wages on absinthe, and a third sister, Charlotte, to care for, Marie and Antoinette find themselves doing all sorts of jobs to earn enough money.
“‘You are French,’ Madame Dominique says, stamping her cane. ‘Our style is refined.'”
Antoinette, the oldest van Goethem sister, has taken on the roll of mother to the two younger girls. She cares for them, ensures they are fed, and works hard to pay the rent for their small lodging room. One day, she meets a young man who intrigues her and helps her find work as an extra in a play. Thus begins her struggles between spending time with her new beau, earning enough money, and taking care of her sisters.
“He makes a habit of nodding when I talk, and keeps his eyes from straying, even when a pair of giggling girls comes into the tavern, and I have this feeling, like there is not a single place he would rather be than beside me on the bench.”
Marie, the middle sister, is still young enough to join the Paris Opera with the hopes of being promoted to the ballet. The wages, however, are not enough, and the extra work she takes on at a bakery begins to run her ragged, so when Edgar Degas asks her to model for him, though she is uncomfortable with the idea, she agrees.
“And your back. Your shoulder blades are like sprouting wings.”
Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, a sculpture by the artist Edgar Degas, was the inspiration for this book. It’s definitely an interesting story idea, but because it is based on real people, there is only so much artistic license Buchanan can take before the story is no longer real.
This review was difficult because there was something missing for me with this book. The van Goethem sisters live a hard life and have to make tough choices to survive, and the themes of the story really should lead to an emotional read. There was a lack of connection to the characters through the first half of the book, and despite what they go through, I didn’t really find myself caring about them. I desperately wanted to feel something, but the story just continues on without engaging the reader.
I did find myself intrigued by some of the secondary characters, and even disgusted by others – still an emotion though! I suppose in the end, I found the van Goethem sisters to be somewhat predictable. As you read the book, you realize a character is going to have to make a tough choice, and you know they will choose the worse one. It got old quick, and I wanted to sit them down and give them a good telling off!
“How I hate the month of December, the sun that don’t show itself until after eight o’clock in the morning and then has the nerve to disappear before five o’clock in the afternoon. And this at a time when vines are aching with damp, shivering with cold, craving a needle of sunshine hot enough to breach the wool of our winter cocoons.”
Oddly enough, I didn’t mind Buchanan’s writing. She does a good job of transporting you to Paris in the 1800s, and you can see and feel the grit and grime of the locations. And truly, the above quote describes exactly how I feel about the cold!
“Now, my dear, be a good girl and drink your champagne.”
Overall, the book was okay. I wasn’t very fond of the characters, and found that some of their choices were rather questionable even for their young ages. The last third or so of the novel was better, as it leads into a “happy finale” of sorts I suppose, and you start to feel a bit better about them. The writing style was nice and descriptive though, and I’ll likely pick up another of Buchanan’s books in the future.
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