Reader's Ink discussion

7. In what ways, if any, did the novel surprise you? How do you react to a novel that incorporates real and well-known people as characters? Did anything in the novel affect the way you had previously thought about Renoir? Impressionism? French culture?

My mother was an artist and painted when I was quite young. We would often have books of famous artists around the house, and I developed a love of the famous artists at a very young age, that continues. I was not as aware of the French culture as I might have been, knowing a little more about Renoir, and learning additional information about Impressionism. My husband and I have done some studying about Impressionism, which also helped while reading this book. It was a tickle to me that the characters were all real folks and to know more about their individual stories and lives made it more fascinating to me.