librarysue 's review for:

Fugitive Colors by Lisa Barr

3.0

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This is a melodrama and potboiler revolving around 1930's Nazi efforts to criminalize "degenerate" modern art in pre-WWII Germany. There were enough twists and turns to the plot to keep a reader engaged (a runaway orthodox Jew who wants to be an artist, romantic liaisons and jealousies aplenty, plus some "Indiana Jones"-type exploits as two main characters escape from a concentration camp), but I struggled to feel properly engaged with the characters, few of whom felt realistic. The tale DID make me want to know more about this time in history and the plight of artists under the Nazi regime. Would it have helped if I had any particular interest in or awareness of modern art? Possibly. (I also concede I'd have enjoyed it more in non-COVID19 times, when I could have held a physical book in my hands rather than an electronic tablet -- I DO relish the ability to flip back and forth in a book to check plot-points, and even to see how far along in a book I am. My Hoopla download allowed for neither of these pleasures.)