Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
3.5/5 ⭐️
While I enjoyed this read, it wasn’t the most compelling thing ever. The writing grew on me the further I read, but I felt like the reader was being shoved along, and it had many times here the story felt like it was dragging.
I will say the way Remedios’ & Leonora’s relationship was built was phenomenal and I wanted more!
While I enjoyed this read, it wasn’t the most compelling thing ever. The writing grew on me the further I read, but I felt like the reader was being shoved along, and it had many times here the story felt like it was dragging.
I will say the way Remedios’ & Leonora’s relationship was built was phenomenal and I wanted more!
“When an artist finally opens herself up, in confidence and vision, there’s no limitation of what she can do.” - Walter, pg. 203
I loooove when a book enlightens me to parts of the world or histories I have not known.
This is the case with book - before reading it I had never heard of famed surrealist painters Remedios Varo or Leonora Carrington. Thank goodness this book brought them into my life.
Their friendship, their feminism in an art community that rarely recognized women as more than muses - those were some of my favorite parts of this book.
Myself and other readers have noted that there isn't a lot of "plot" in this book. It is more of a telling of the women and theirs lives. Once I understood that - I enjoyed it much more.
But my most favorite parts were reading about Remedios' fascinating life - much of which centered around her life long journey to truly believe in her abilities and her devotion to magic and the tarot. It made me dust off my own beautiful deck of cards and reconnect to the small, everyday gifts of nature all around.
Part of a five book series with the theme of birds/flight from my TBR list:
Book 1: Bluebird, Bluebird
Book 2: H is for Hawk
Book 3: Alchemy of a Blackbird
Book 4: Better Living Through Birding: Notes From a Blackman in the Natural World
Book 5: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
This is the case with book - before reading it I had never heard of famed surrealist painters Remedios Varo or Leonora Carrington. Thank goodness this book brought them into my life.
Their friendship, their feminism in an art community that rarely recognized women as more than muses - those were some of my favorite parts of this book.
Myself and other readers have noted that there isn't a lot of "plot" in this book. It is more of a telling of the women and theirs lives. Once I understood that - I enjoyed it much more.
But my most favorite parts were reading about Remedios' fascinating life - much of which centered around her life long journey to truly believe in her abilities and her devotion to magic and the tarot. It made me dust off my own beautiful deck of cards and reconnect to the small, everyday gifts of nature all around.
Part of a five book series with the theme of birds/flight from my TBR list:
Book 1: Bluebird, Bluebird
Book 2: H is for Hawk
Book 3: Alchemy of a Blackbird
Book 4: Better Living Through Birding: Notes From a Blackman in the Natural World
Book 5: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love things set in WWII, which is what initially drew me to this story. I enjoyed it.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lenora Carrington, Remedios Varo, Surrealism and Tarot, what is not to love about this book? It was beautiful from start to finish.
A story about the tarot! I really liked the historical fiction aspect; this book spurred me to research more about Pamela Smith and her role in creating the RWS tarot deck.
The use of the Tarot to emphasize character traits was a fun new way to discover.
This is one of the few mainstream works of fiction I've read that very accurately depicts the tarot, both in terms of its purpose and the cards' individual meanings. The spiritual aspects in general were really well done. I am typically not a big reader of historical fiction, but that was enough of a hook to get me interested in this story. I can't speak to how well the artists' lives were portrayed, although it's clear this is fiction (or "faction," as the author calls it lol).
It took me a little while to get the hang of the book's structure. The bulk of the story is told in the third person, but each chapter begins with a brief section about a specific tarot card and a first person narrative from the character who relates to the card. I initially found this confusing (maybe because I was listening to the audio rather than reading?), but once I figured it out I liked it. It was a cool way to sneak in some character development.
Aside from that hiccup, I enjoyed it! Again, historical fiction isn't really my thing, but this one held my interest for the most part. I definitely want to read up on Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington now.
It took me a little while to get the hang of the book's structure. The bulk of the story is told in the third person, but each chapter begins with a brief section about a specific tarot card and a first person narrative from the character who relates to the card. I initially found this confusing (maybe because I was listening to the audio rather than reading?), but once I figured it out I liked it. It was a cool way to sneak in some character development.
Aside from that hiccup, I enjoyed it! Again, historical fiction isn't really my thing, but this one held my interest for the most part. I definitely want to read up on Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington now.
I am here for the ladies not settling for being muses of men! This was a great historical novel and I especially liked the tarot explanations at the beginnings of the chapters.