2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss Pale Shadows by Dominique Fortier.

Pages: 192 pages

Length: 1 month (May)

Participants: Valerie, Lorraine

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Hi Valerie. I was thinking of waiting for the flight home on May 12th to start this book. Would that work for you?

Yes that’s good for me. Just let me know when you’re ready.
Where are you at the moment? Hope you are having a great time!

I am in Sevilla. I love this city! So beautiful. My favorite so far.

Started today and at 30%. Beautifully written, very engaging. I’m really enjoying learning more about the women who were not centre stage in her other novel. So far the perspective has reversed and Emily is very much in the background.
(view spoiler)[I like Lavinia’s attitude to life. It made me smile when she wondered who would make dinner for her less practical deceased family and that her only regret was not having had enough cats! Susan really needs a bit of a jolt to bring her back to life. Mabel appears rather shallow and self centred - maybe she will redeem herself later. Millicent seems rather lost in her imagination so probably the closest in character to Emily. (hide spoiler)]
I’m guessing you are on your way back home so buen viaje.

Yes, we came back from Spain yesterday so I had a lot of reading time! I started the book yesterday and finished it this morning. I was wondering how she would handle her sequel with the fact that her main character was dead but she did this perfectly. (view spoiler)[ I really liked that Emily spirit is still there, that Emily and Millicent seams to communicate (I am not one having problems with spirits in a stories). I love that Lavinia decided that life is worth it and did not let herself go after the death of her sister. As for Susan, I think that she finally finds a way to be more content with her life. That her husband has lost his power over her. Like you, I did not find Mabel really interesting but I think that her contact with Emily poetry is helping her to grow up. I think the part where we are told there is no mirror in the little working room she created for herself, tells a lot (hide spoiler)]
I tried to find an English copy of the book because there is a paragraph that make me think of you because of your love of cats (which we share) but I could not get it. In the French version, it is at the start of chapter 23 where Lavinia just got up and opens the door so the cats can get in. This paragraph is so funny! For people who love cats, we know they think exactly like that! 😊

Finished. It really is a delightful book to just immerse yourself in. I think that because she was focused on more minor characters, the author was able to let her imagination take flight as not much is really known about them so they can be invented more fully. Loved Lavinia (and her growing cats) and Millicent with her imaginative nature (and very appropriately slipping in a poem to add to Emily’s collection). I didn’t warm to Mabel, but I agree that there is a glimmer of hope for Susan.
Now I just need to get through the rest of her poems!