👶👶👶 The Beautiful American, by Jeanne Mackin

“A century of nothing passed, and then a moment of everything arrived…” It is exquisite passages such as these through which Mackin enchants her readers. This story was a leisurely stroll through Ex-patriot France just before and immediately following the tumult of World War II. The author was able to incorporate several of the artistic geniuses of the 20th century into this historical fiction novel. The author imbued her work with the beauty, desire, and agony so often expressed in the works of Picasso, Man Ray, and Lee Miller, all of whom she skillfully worked into her story.

I struggled with the protagonist, a feeble, lackluster character. Although I appreciated being able to see the events surrounding that time period through an American woman’s eyes, her actions frustrated me. What left me feeling bewildered was why Nora continued to allow herself to be constantly disrespected, and why she surrounded herself with such shallow individuals. I was specifically surprised -and completely ignorant of the fact- that most men of this time period kept a mistress; it seemed to be a socially acceptable part of the European culture at the time.

Mackin also added a motif throughout the story focusing on the origins and background of perfume, which in the beginning seemed enticing; but eventually, may have weakened the novel by adding meaningless verbiage in an already saturated book.

Overall it was an alluring novel, despite my having a few reservations.

Read 2/22/15