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brianlarson 's review for:
The Magnolia Palace
by Fiona Davis
It’s tough to come off an Erik Larson read and into the two dimensional world of “The Magnolia Palace.” I think I would’ve appreciated this book more if the second narrative arc (Veronica’s storyline) wasn’t included; the timeline hop-scotch between the two main characters was wonky and forced.
As Fiona describes in the afterword, she was most inspired by the Frick women after her visit to the NYC museum in 2019. Joshua, Veronica, Polly, and even the older versions of Helen and Lilian felt contrived, out of place, and, pardon the comparison, like they belonged in a Danielle Steel novel.
Everyone in the book gets a happy ending. Fiona tries to put a ribbon on her story in the last twenty pages and the story just completely crumbles. What should’ve been a novel critiquing the value of “art” and contemporary forms of beauty suddenly becomes a high speed chase to a nursing home (I’m not kidding).
I did love the setup of this novel. The setting of a story in the Frick family home is ingenious. I drew many comparisons to “The Personal Librarian,” a novel about Belle da Costa Greene, JP Morgan’s personal librarian and the inspiration behind the Morgan Museum. Instead of “The Magnolia Palace,” this novel could’ve been titled “The Personal Secretary.” Of these two parallel reads, “The Personal Librarian” offers a more holistic and satisfying story.
As Fiona describes in the afterword, she was most inspired by the Frick women after her visit to the NYC museum in 2019. Joshua, Veronica, Polly, and even the older versions of Helen and Lilian felt contrived, out of place, and, pardon the comparison, like they belonged in a Danielle Steel novel.
Everyone in the book gets a happy ending. Fiona tries to put a ribbon on her story in the last twenty pages and the story just completely crumbles. What should’ve been a novel critiquing the value of “art” and contemporary forms of beauty suddenly becomes a high speed chase to a nursing home (I’m not kidding).
I did love the setup of this novel. The setting of a story in the Frick family home is ingenious. I drew many comparisons to “The Personal Librarian,” a novel about Belle da Costa Greene, JP Morgan’s personal librarian and the inspiration behind the Morgan Museum. Instead of “The Magnolia Palace,” this novel could’ve been titled “The Personal Secretary.” Of these two parallel reads, “The Personal Librarian” offers a more holistic and satisfying story.