Paris, 7 A.M.

by Liza Wieland

“A marvel of lost innocence” (O, The Oprah Magazine) that reimagines three life-changing weeks poet Elizabeth Bishop spent in Paris amidst the imminent threat of World War II.

June 1937. Elizabeth Bishop, still only a young woman and not yet one of the most influential poets of the 20th century, arrives in France with her college roommates. They are in search of an escape, and inspiration, far from the protective world of Vassar College where they were expected to find an impressive husband and a quiet life. But the world is changing, and as they explore the City of Lights, the larger threats of fascism and occupation are looming. There, they meet a community of upper-crust expatriates who not only bring them along on a life-changing adventure, but also into an underground world of rebellion that will quietly alter the course of Elizabeth’s life forever.

Sweeping and stirring, Paris, 7 A.M. imagines 1937—the only year Elizabeth, a meticulous keeper of journals—didn’t fully chronicle—in vivid detail and brings us from Paris to Normandy where Elizabeth becomes involved with a group rescuing Jewish “orphans” and delivering them to convents where they will be baptized as Catholics and saved from the impending horror their parents will face.

Both poignant and captivating, Paris, 7 A.M. is an “achingly introspective marvel of lost innocence” (O, The Oprah Magazine) and a beautifully rendered take on the formative years of one of America’s most celebrated female poets.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, France, World War II, Historical, LGBT, Poetry

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 2019

Reviews

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beginning in 1930 at Vassar and continuing through 1979, this work of fiction conceptualizes the life of Elizabeth Bishop. The main focus is her time spent in Paris prior to WWII and her impressionable years as a fledgling poet. Primarily based on Bishop’s journals, there are three weeks during 1937 that are not chronicled so the events of this time period are unknown which allows the author to speculate about what may have happened. Throughout the novel the theme of children being sent away surfaces again and again. In one scene, Bishop and Clara Longworth Comtesse de Chanbrun rescue children by sending them away.

There is a dreamlike quality throughout this work which parallels Bishop’s interest in surrealism. However, Bishop is not a surrealist and her modernist leanings are apparent in some of her observations of the mechanical. In my mind, Bishop is not an obvious confessional poet either but Wieland permits us to observe Bishop disclose her private thoughts. The lack of quotation marks deadens dialogue for me although I do understand that this technique lends itself to create the tone of a journal. This novel takes the title of one of Elizabeth Bishop’s poems which I would recommend reading.

Naturally, Marianne Moore makes appearances as do, notably, Sylvia Beach and Natalie Burney. Regardless if you know a lot, nothing or, like me, a little bit about Elizabeth Bishop this is a book well worth reading. I am inspired to read Megan Marshall’s biography about Bishop in order to contextualize one of my favorite poets.

[Karren Sandercock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elizabeth Bishop, arrives in France with her roommates from Vassar College, in search of an escape, from the pressures of having to act like ladies and find suitable husbands. As they explore the streets of Paris, everyone is worried about another war, fascism and should they return home.

Elizabeth meets Léonie and Dominique who use their boat to rescue Jewish babies and take them to a convent in Paris and here their baptized as Catholics. This is where the story gets confusing for me, I have tried to read the book before, and for some reason I don’t understand the plot and I find it hard to sort fact from fiction, what’s real and what’s not?

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my digital copy of Paris, 7 A.M. in exchange for an honest review. Author Liza Wieland writes about one of America famous female poets and how during a time span of three weeks in June 1937 Elizabeth didn’t put pen to paper in her journal and I guess the narrative is about exploring why?

I know Elizabeth Bishop's poems are about being human, and the experiences of grief, her father died when she was a baby and her mother spent years in a psychiatric hospital and they were never reunited and longing and maybe hidden between the pages of this novel is the meaning of what the author is trying to convey and is channelling Ms. Bishop and her life? I did enjoy reading how they saved babies Marta and Rachel and three stars from me

[Melissa Crytzer Fry]

This is another of those books I’m at a loss to rate. Because I often enjoy poetic writing in literary works of fiction, I was thrilled to see this book was written by a poet and about a poet. I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t explain the simultaneously troubled relationship I have with poetry, stemming from a professor’s MANY-year’s-ago pronouncement that my interpretation of a Romantic-Era poem was “out there.” (Mind you, I did not raise my hand to volunteer my interpretation and had always been a bit intimidated by poetry. That event sealed the deal, filled with embarrassment as I was in front of my classmates).

So, perhaps I bring that baggage to my reading of this novel with its beautiful, passionate language, metaphors, and its story of one of America’s influential 20th century poets.

For me, I felt the book jacket copy was misleading; I thought the story would revolve around the saving of Jewish orphans, when – in fact – that plot point played a very minimal role in the story. The book seemed, more so, a book of sexual discovery. It also is filled with lines and lines of text and dialogue written in French and German – where I was unable to determine the context of what had been said. There are zero quotation marks for dialogue (which I confess I had trouble with). Characters are introduced without any formal introduction from chapter to chapter (making it helpful if you already know the biographical background of Elizabeth Bishop). This is especially true toward the end of the book. I didn’t know who half the characters were and why they were present, except that they were (I learned from research) part of the real-life Elizabeth Bishop’s past.

There are lovely and heartbreaking mother-daughter themes throughout which I appreciated. I also read other positive reviews and respect those who loved this book and believe it just wasn’t the right fit for me. For my tastes, there was too much unsaid – too much reading between the lines – and the reading of this novel felt like the solving of a riddle. I was off-balance and felt as though I was missing ‘something’ from chapter to chapter, unsure of what was actually happening throughout. Perhaps I was searching for some type of “story structure” that I could not recognize, and this book ultimately cemented the fact that experimental fiction is not necessarily for me. Or maybe, as my professor said, my interpretation of the book is just “out there.”

If you love poetry, have an interest in Elizbeth Bishop, and aren’t afraid of unique storytelling, this might be the book for you.

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is comprised of overwritten and overthought sentences. “The whole landscape of colleges scaffolds and pillories, stocks and bonds, glass houses, and stone lying around everywhere. These notions, like wolves, drift in from the darkened edges of her mind.” Every little mundane detail gets ridiculously embellished. Maybe that’s the way poets look at things, but I found it pretentious and unbearable. “The desks are wild floating islands, mountainous with books, with flotillas of pencils and pens cruising about the shallows.”

I made it to the 33% point, and nothing approaching “a life-changing adventure” had appeared. I didn’t have the patience to wait for its arrival and abandoned this book. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh, this book. This is a loving tribute to Elizabeth Bishop in the form of a novel that reads a bit like an extended Bishop poem. I have long loved Bishop's work, but knew pretty much nothing about her life. Paris, 7 A.M. is a bit experimental, in that it doesn't worry about explaining how Elizabeth-the-character gets from place (physical, situational, relational) to place. Time passes between the chapters and we are not filled in (the intervals are longer and longer as the novel winds to an end). Other characters come and go and we are not told everything but left to guess, or not. I didn't bother guessing. I went with the incredible language and Wieland's evocation of Bishop's mind and her many mind-states.

After I finished I rooted around in the interwebz and found that Bishop had a really tortured childhood and a life full of pain. There is clear intimation of this in the novel (the running theme of abandonment), but this is not a painful novel. At least it wasn't for me. As I said, a lot is left off the page and you can fill in the blanks by looking stuff up, or not. I have to say that I felt some frustration at first: why isn't Wieland telling us more? But Elizabeth feels so lost, so mystified for much of the time -- just really confused at the world around her -- that I thought, Okay, so Wieland is giving us Bishop's mind, and the fogginess of the novel reflects Bishop's own fogginess.

There is also, by necessity, a sense of ominousness. The Paris part leads us up to the brink of full Nazi takeover (there is already some Nazi takeover) and you know, people go about their business, I mean, they are alarmed, they are worried, but they are nowhere near as terrified by the doom that right around the corner as they should be. And this put me very much in mind of the USA now, cuz I am feeling this doom every day, and yet go about my life, feeling fundamentally untouched, fundamentally safe. Hard to imagine that Wieland didn't have this in mind when she wrote the book. So I'm going to call this my third Trumpian novel, after 's The Heavens and Lark Benobi's The Book of Dog.

Lastly, I confess I would have liked more lesbian action. This is me. The book overflows with lesbian desire and it is clear that Elizabeth is getting love and tenderness and sex and reciprocation. Still, maybe leaving it to the imagination is good too.

I loved this book, I loved discovering this author, and I'm looking forward to my backlog of novels by her!

[Joan Happel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautifully, crafted novel of historical fiction, relates events in the life of poet Elizabeth Bishop while visiting Paris on the brink of World War II. Bishop, a meticulous keeper of journals, had a three-week gap in her journal of 1937. She has just graduated from Vassar College and is not yet the poet she will become. Wieland poses a scenario between Bishop and an older-women, who recruits her into helping rescue two Jewish children, placing them into a convent and saving them from the holocaust. The story shows her introduction to Marianne Moore, who will be her mentor and while in France, Bishop meets Sylvia Beach, Natalie Barney and German deputy ambassador Ernst vom Rath (his assassination was used as the pretext for Kristallnacht). The remaining chapters move quickly through the rest of Elizabeth’s life and relationships, touching briefly on her friendship with the poet Robert Lowell.

There is a dream-like quality to Wieland’s prose, lending the writing a feeling of surrealism. What is real and what is imagined? Bishop seems to be standing back and observing the events unfolding around her, trying to decide her place in what she sees. There is a strong sense of time and place, and the relationships Bishop has with the women, who were possibly her lovers, is handled gently. I would recommend this novel to fans of Elizabeth Bishop, as well as fans of historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inventive plot, an imagined act of resistance, and a poet's narrative voice. Some absolutely gorgeous passages:

"I keep thinking about mercury...The way a drop of it will join smaller drops to it. The drop grows larger, but it keeps its original form and quality. Like the past. I don't think you can understand the past in the order things happened."

Wieland uses this premise of mercury accumulating in order to gather together in her novel daily observations with a poet's sensibility. These gatherings make a greater whole with the purpose of trying to understand poet Elizabeth Bishop's life, particularly during a three week period in France.

"That's what waves do. They arrive, same as dreams do, sames as travelers do, their bags full of flotsam and jetsam, the orderly folding inside always undone by the rough treatment of porters and dockhands."

Though it can be hard to follow the waves at times, and the flotsam and jetsam is not always satisfying, I'm in awe of this writer's ability to craft a sentence and create a fluid, dreamlike presence on paper.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Serendipity

On Monday, April 15, Notre-Dame was in flames.
A horrified world watched, joined in tears.
***
On Tuesday, April 16, during my husband's surgery,
I was in a waiting room
reading Liz Wieland's Paris, 7 A.M.

And I read, "The crazy quilt of languages around Notre-Dame,"
and I read, "The being that will appear will emerge from the guest bedroom
will be hideous, a sort of gargoyle
come down off the sheer facade of Notre-Dame,"
and I read, "In an hour, it's lighting a candle in Notre-Dame,"
and I read, "the great squatting hulk of Notre-Dame,"

while the television in the waiting room aired
photographs and videos of the "great squatting hulk",
the gleam of the cross rising out of the ashes like a beacon.

I have never seen Notre-Dame or Paris or France.
I have not had the luck to have been a traveler.
No memories rushed forward, just sorrow for what was lost.

But the book brought Paris alive for me,
albeit a Paris from long before my birth,
a Paris just before the war,
with intimations of war
quivering in the atmosphere.

The Novel

Geography

In 1937, the young poet Elizabeth Bishop and two Vassar friends
traveled to Paris.
For three weeks, Elizabeth did not write in her journal.

Liz Wieland wondered about that silence
and imagined Bishop's life over those missing weeks,
the mysteries she held close and never revealed.

Elizabeth and her friends,
full of youthful optimism
in spite of the disorder on the continent.

Louise of the blue eyes.
Anaphora. Margaret's horrid accident.

And the people they meet,

Sigrid who married for safety,
and the Countess Clara Longworth de Chambrun
who sees in Elizabeth her deceased daughter
who sees in Elizabeth a co-conspirator.

Paris 7 A.M. reflects Bishop's poetic voice, steals her imagery
and the titles of her books of poetry, Easter eggs
left to find in the days before Easter when I was reading.
So many hidden in the paragraphs beyond my ken.

"And then the clocks speak," I read.

The clocks, the time, the water, sailing,
the drinking, the women,
the traveling, and the traveling.

"Why do you travel?" I read. Questions of Travel.
And she answers, "To be free." "To see beauty."

It was coming, people sensed, knew
the world would shift again, war inevitable.
"The world is getting so ugly," I read.
"The swastika, a headless spider," I read.

The Jewish babies lovingly handed over
by desperate loving mothers
into stranger's arms
to travel into another mother's arms.

Elizabeth's mother could not mother
Elizabeth would never become a mother
Elizabeth was a midwife in the babies’ rebirth.

Elsewhere
Back to the known, Wieland's pen
flirts across the years
touching like a butterfly on a flower
upon Bishop's travels.
Florida. Brazil. America.
Letters from Marianne Moore, Sigrid, Louise.
Sailing with 'Cal' Lowell.
A summation of a life's losses.

And I read,
"Does everybody live such divided lives, Elizabeth wonders: one self moving about the world like all the other million selves, and another that's stuck somewhere behind?"

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine there was a knowledge gap of several months in the history of your life. For most of us, that would not present a problem. For followers of poet Elizabeth Bishop this presents more of a thought provoking issue for Bishop maintained daily journals throughout her life, except for much of 1937 when she stopped entirely. In Paris, 7 A.M., Liza Wieland has imagined what may have happened to Elizabeth during this important post-college year as she works to develop her skills and learn more about herself and the world.

Reading Paris, 7 A.M. has been an odd experience. At times I was captivated by the use of some sparkling or powerful imagery while at others I was confused on the most basic level of who was speaking/narrating what I was reading. The absence of punctuation and frequent lack of identifiers, combined with the fact of so much of the book taking place within Elizabeth’s mind, makes some true conversation difficult to parse out. As the story proceeds, thankfully, this becomes less of an issue.

Perhaps if I had gone into this reading with more knowledge of Bishop and her work I would have understood more of what I read. Of course that’s impossible now. There are pleasures here especially in some of the wonderful imagery sprinkled throughout the book. And, as we come to know and experience Elizabeth more, and as she has meaningful experiences in pre-World War II France in the second part of the book, there is more to enjoy in this recreation of her life. Rated 3 to 3.5*

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Deanne Patterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well researched story based on the life of poet Elizabeth Bishop.
"The formative years of one of America’s most celebrated—and mythologized—female poets."
Lots of information given, presented fact like, it wasn't really a story. I made no connection with the characters. I wanted more of a focus on Elizabeth Bishop and her work but it was lacking.
The book had the potential to be much better . The plot,the characters,the setting it flitted all over the place, no connection. The story did not flow like I am used to reading.

Published June 11th 2019 by Simon Schuster
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is supposed to be concentrated on Elizabeth Bishop’s three weeks in Paris, but 15% through the story she is still in NY and there is very little substance to the story.

As the story starts it jumps from one place to another not making much sense, at some points, with a style of writing – trying to be poetic it makes even less sense.

This is not a book for me.

[Jypsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I would enjoy this book much more than I actually did. I wanted more of a focus on Elizabeth Bishop and her work, but that aspect felt lacking. The narrative style was not my favorite either. Overall the story had the potential to be much better but fell short. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Alison Hardtmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

After graduating from Vassar, American poet Elizabeth Bishop went to France with two college friends. Here author Liza Wieland imagines what might have happened to Bishop as a young woman in Paris in 1937. In the novel, Bishop forms relationships of various kinds with a young German woman who is in Paris because Berlin is no longer safe for her and an older woman who lost her own daughter some years earlier. There's a lot going on in this novel, from Nazis, to lesbians, to an amputated hand, to rescuing babies, to hanging out with everyone from Sylvia Beach to Marianne Moore. Yet it never feels over-packed. Wieland's writing is almost dreamy and stays focused on how Bishop perceives what's happening around her, rather than what is actually happening, which puts some of the events at a sort of remove, even as they're happening, while intensifying others.

There is a sense of slowly rising danger in this novel, not for Bishop and her American friends, who return to the US safely, although not without having been changed, but for the Europeans they encounter. Not all the Germans in France are Nazis, some are Germans who have found Germany unsafe for a variety of reasons. And while the heart of the story centers on secretly moving Jewish babies into the safety of a Catholic convent in Paris, the reader remains aware of what tenuous protection that will prove to be.

There are a number of novels out there imagining the details of the lives of famous literary and historical personages and a disproportionate number of them take place in Paris. But this is different enough and written so well as to be well worth reading.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

My new book club was divided on this about 50/50. Half thought it was weak in the plot area and worried that various parts did not hold together story-wise, with disparate elements just sort of floating around. The rest of us, including me, appreciated the skillful prose and general mood of the book. I loved the language and saw what some called the disconnected portions as chances to flesh out the characters, their personalities, and enrich both the relationships between them and the environment in which they were moving. Not a page-turner, but I like to sink into a well-written literary narrative for the sake of more than the plot.

Paris, 7 a.m. story is a fictional episode in the life of poet Elizabeth Bishop that imagines her helping to rescue Jewish babies from the Nazis in the late 1930s and this story of anonymous parents giving up their children in order to save them is moving and evocative of other mother-daughter themes throughout the novel.

The story also incorporates the historical fact that Bishop was separated when she was a small child from her own mother who was mentally ill and institutionalized. Weiland includes several real-life friends of Elizabeth Bishop, including poet Maryanne Moore, painter Margaret Miller, and Clara Eleanor Longworth de Chambrun, as characters. Clara is an older woman and French countess who had lost a grown daughter to illness in 1921 and the bond between Elizabeth and Clara in Paris, 7 a.m. further reflects the dynamics of mother-daughter relationships and the trauma of grief and loss when those relationships are severed.

Author Liza Weiland is herself a poet and it shows. The language throughout the book is often beautiful and convincingly conveys the intellectual and emotional experience of Elizabeth, the predominant POV character.

Present tense narration seems to be an unpopular device with some, but I usually like it when it’s chosen for appropriate works, and I liked it here. It gives an immediacy and an interiority that suited this story and added to the many other elements that made this an enjoyable read for me.

[Snooty1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this drew me immediately. I love historical fiction and especially when the focus on the life of a real person. The “what if” premise always captivates me. This novel follows Elizabeth Bishop, poet and a woman trying to find her self and come of age. Likely the author decided to go with a very lyrical and poetic voice as the story is told through Elizabeth’s eyes. However, this made the story a bit hard to follow. At times I felt I don’t know what the context was and to be honest what exactly was happening. Overall, the story was intriguing and a very interesting perspective of a “American in Paris” but I felt I really couldn’t connect with the characters.

***I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley for my honest review.

[Patricia Romero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before Elizabeth Bishop was a famous poet, and a faithful keeper of journals, she had an adventure. What? We don't know. For all of the material in her journals there is a blank space, noticeable by its absence. The year was 1937 and the author has filled in what could have been.  Beginning in 1930 and continuing to 1979, the author has imagined what may have happened. And it's a really good idea!

She and her Vassar roomies are headed to France! An adventure. Seemingly unaware of the trouble brewing all over Europe. War is on the way. No one is trusted. Everyone is being watched. When Elizabeth is introduced to a group helping to save Jewish orphans by taking them to convents in Paris, her life is forever changed.

There was a kind of vagueness about a lot of the characters. I kept asking questions in my head about the lack of information. To tell you the truth I still am not sure, but then neither was the author about those 3 weeks.

It left me with a lot of questions that no one had the answers to.

NetGalley/ June 11th 2019 by Simon Schuster

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

The background and timeline of this historical novel are well researched and well presented, both in the US and in France. However, I never reached a place in the tale where I was feeling that there was a story involved. Just a listing of facts, of episodes in the life of these women, but as far as a to b to c to resolution, there was none of that. So while I learned more about pre-world war 2 in France and of the emotions and difficulties of living as a part of a lesbian community, I didn't enjoy the satisfaction of a solution to the questions and problems in the lives of these interesting ladies.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Liza Wieland, Simon & Schuster. Thank you for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this book of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.

pub date June 11, 2019
Simon & Schuster
Reviewed on Goodreads, Netgalley, Amazon and Barnes and Novel June 20, 2019

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a DNF for me at around 58%. I enjoyed the writing style to an extent. I liked how it felt like a poem, but at some parts I was just completely lost as to where in the world the characters were, what was truly happening and not a thought in Bishops imagination, and what on earth the character were talking about. I'm sure it'll be inserted when it's released, but without quotation marks, it took me a couple beats to figure out who was talking and if it was actual dialogue. I'm sure others will enjoy it more than I did, and I'm a fan of historical fiction, but again this book just wasn't for me.

[Chris Doty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book and the story of Elizabeth Bishop. I found it mysterious and intriguing as she opened up about her whole life and her thoughts. It could be that I know the authors mother so I read it with much interest. I will be reading her other novels and also more of Elizabeth Bishops poetry. Plus Miss Bishops biography.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

In June 1937, American poet Elizabeth Bishop, travels to Europe with friends after graduation from Vassar. Easily falling into an upper echelon group of both expatriates and patrons of the arts, Elizabeth explores her writing and sexuality during a grave time in history. As war looms throughout Europe, Elizabeth questions her own abilities and friendships with this mixed troupe of characters. For three weeks, this life long journal keeper’s diaries are blank. These fictionalized weeks are imagined by author Liza Weiland who poetically tells of Elizabeth’s adventures and many famous relationships. Flashing back to her years at Vassar and her sad, lonely childhood, we are quickly immersed in Elizabeth’s heart and the beginning of her life as a poet. Unfortunately, this novel is scattered with too many unimportant characters and events filling the pages. After intimate, excruciating daily detail, the storyline races to the finish, ultimately skipping years and then decades, and finally losing its focus and my interest.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.

I mean, I don't think there's anything really WRONG with this book, but I didn't enjoy the reading experience. The real issue for me is that it's marketed very differently than what it actually delivers. I expected a more straightforward historical fiction novel with an intriguing "what if?" premise, but it's much more literary and has a kind of hazy quality that made everything - the characters, the setting, the plot - feel like it was held at arms length from me. The orphan-saving subplot is very, very minor, and readers who were drawn in by that premise will be disappointed. The author assumes a lot of knowledge about Elizabeth Bishop on the part of the reader and her style didn't inspire me to want to learn more about Bishop's work during this period.

Maybe in a different mood, and with more introductory knowledge, I would have enjoyed this more. But also, I'm so so so so so so so tired of World War II books.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not well read at all. And, then I went to the Goodreads comments and found quite a number of people who also had not finished it. It was really difficult to figure out who the characters were, where they were, and how they were related. I only finished 35% but that was enough!

[Desirae]

DNF @ 40%

Was annoyed. Couldn't get into it.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Bishop, the renowned poet, went to Paris for 3 weeks with her college friends. The year was 1937. The world was changing quickly and war was on the horizon. They are all Vassar students and Paris was not all they expected.
It should be noted that during this time she made no notes of her activities so it’s conjecture on the author’s part.
Their adventures during Elizabeth’s formative years will affect her dramatically. The main drawback is the unevenness of the story line.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an ARC OF THIS BOOK.

[Bruin Mccon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is weird.

Based on Elizabeth Bishop but with a section completely made up where she rescues kids.

It has some beautiful writing and deep thoughts. It’s essentially the story of missing a parent for one’s whole life. Another character misses her child for the rest of her life. A difficult book to read at a time when real children are being separated from their parents at the border and kept in concentration camps. It that respect this book is hard to stomach.

3.5 ⭐️s.

[Lissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I forced myself to read to page one hundred, and then I realized that I didn't give a damn about any of the characters or what happened to them, so I gave up and DNFed this book.

I'm glad that I borrowed it from the library, because I almost bought it. The book's synopsis makes it seem that I would enjoy it - historical fiction set a couple of years before the start of WW2 in Europe. They're rescuing children (I assume...I never got to that part) and there are lesbians everywhere (hooray for that, at least!).

But my main problem with this is the writing style. Others may call it ethereal or breathtaking or what have you, but all I find it is damned confusing. There are no quotation marks to show what is being said aloud, so every time I came along an idea or thought, I had to stop and think - is this being said aloud, or is this being said in the character's head?

I kind of get pissed when an author chooses to use a writing style that flaunts conventional punctuation, because nothing will draw me out of a book faster. It's impossible for me to get lost in a story if I am constantly being pulled out of the events by the writing style and the lack of proper punctuation, you know? I'm going to rant more about this below a spoiler cut. Okay, no secret, I'm on the spectrum. And it is SO DAMNED HARD for me to read fiction most of the time anyway, because there is a disconnect between the characters and what they are feeling and me. That's why I love reading romance books so much - the authors tend to spell out, sometimes in excruciating detail, exactly what the characters are feeling, so at least I know what their states of mind are. This book? I have no idea what is going on at all. And that's not all the writing style's fault, but it's a big chunk of it, and it just reminds me that I probably shouldn't try to read all of these high literary books, because the writing style is not for people like me who struggle with understanding fictional characters' feelings and thoughts. I just wish people would follow proper punctuation and grammar. I know it's a "style" choice, but it makes it almost impossible to follow the book, at least for me.

Also, I hate how the characters know events that are going to happen in the future, things that they have no way of knowing. At one point, Elizabeth is in the "present time," which is 1936, and she throws an offhand remark about how in 1911 they were three years away from a devastating war, just like they are now in present time. How in the fuck does Elizabeth KNOW that there is a devastating war three years down the line? Sure, she can see that countries are preparing for it, but she doesn't KNOW when it is coming. It'd be one thing if Elizabeth was looking back in time from a point in the future, but the rest of the chapter isn't written that way. Nothing makes sense. ARGH. Why did I even try reading this book?

That said, I am interested in reading a biography about the real Elizabeth, because her life seems pretty intruding. Unfortunately, this book wasn't.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my review.

Liza Wieland's new book imagines a year in the life of poet Elizabeth Bishop, the only year of her life that isn't chronicled in detail in her journals. In June of 1937, Bishop visited Paris with some friends, and gets swept up in the days just before World War II, even helping smuggle a couple of babies out of Normandy to save them from the horrific fate that awaited their Jewish parents.

The book will appeal to fans of literary and historical fiction. I am a big fan of the recent(ish) movie about Elizabeth's life with Carlotta (Reaching for the Moon), and so I perked up at the thought of delving into a fictionalized account of her earlier life.

Overall, I enjoyed it. There is no shortage of emotion and action with a touch of romance, but, I did skim portions throughout the middle and toward the end of the book. Wieland's language is beautiful, but at times, I was anxious to move through the plot more quickly. Perhaps this is a me problem and not a book problem, and I have probably spent too much time with heart-stopping, sci-fi lately and need to take more time to appreciate both the language and the action of the story.

I would recommend this for fans of Bishop and also for those who enjoy World War II historical novels.

[Amy Gennaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author Liza Wieland, the publisher Simon & Schuster, and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

The book is semi-biographical. It is about the poet, Elizabeth Bishop, and is written in historical context of time she spent in Europe, specifically France, mostly Paris. It is fiction in that it creates an interlude in which Elizabeth makes a journey to northern France and helps to transport Jewish infant refugees to a French Catholic orphanage.

I should first point out that I have never heard of Elizabeth Bishop, nor read any of her poetry before reading this novel. Having read some poems afterwords, including the one titled "Paris, 7 AM" would have really been interesting to have read some prior to reading this book.

First, I thought that the author did a good job of evoking the tone of Bishop's poems in her storyline. The author did a good job of depicting the fear and foreboding about an upcoming was with Nazi Germany. And yet Elizabeth and her friends still had a mostly rollicking good time while in Paris.

The issue that I had with this book was in the conversations written by the author. It was very difficult to follow who was saying what and I had to frequently reread sections when I became confused as to who was speaking.

I am guessing that the book would have been a better read for someone who is a fan of or who has read Elizabeth Bishop's poetry.

I give it a 3.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1937, two years after graduating from Vassar, Elizabeth Bishop went with some college friends to France. During this time, there was a three week stretch in time where she did not write in her life-long journal. Wieland has taken a look back and imagined what might have happened in that time. She and her friends move around and end up in Paris. Bishop tries to write. An artist friend has a tragic accident. She meets other artists and writers, including Natalie Barney. She falls for a woman who is not available to her. An older woman takes her on as a replacement for her deceased daughter- and as an aide in saving Jews from the invading Nazis.

Even though I realize this is a well written book, it really didn’t draw me in. It’s written in the third person present tense, which I found a bit off putting. Besides that, I was never pulled into the story, and never took to any of the characters. Wieland’s writing has a dreamy quality, like watching the story through a veil of chiffon. I can only give it three stars.

[Jessica Rosner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not like rating books with stars.
I really liked this book - a fictional telling of parts of the life of the poet Elizabeth Bishop, and her Vassar College friends. The bulk of it is set in Europe, Paris and outer France, when Hitler was rising in power but war had not quite begun.
There is a chilling and poignant act of bravery, but it is also about always being ‘other’, even with your best friends. So many secrets.
A gay woman, an alcoholic (this story made me wish for tumblers of scotch), a poet, an orphan after her mother has to live her life in an asylum. The brave act she can’t use for a poem, because it’s too dangerous to tell.
The watching, the speaking, the honest conversations. The novel is almost like a narrative poem itself.
I don’t think this novel is for everyone.
I enjoy stories about people finding their voices, and using them when it matters. I enjoy descriptions of some of the more mundane parts of life.
This novel made me want to know more about Bishop and to me, that’s a powerful thing.