Lisette’s List by Susan Vreeland
Reviewed by: Amy Falasz-Peterson, Director
Genre: Historical Fiction
Suggested Age: Adults
What is the book about?: A young Parisian couple (Andre and Lisette) moves from Paris to the South of France in 1937 to help care for the ailing Pascal, grandfather of Andre. Pascal possesses a love of art, as well as the Provincial countryside and has a small collection of paintings from Pisarro, Cezanne and Picasso. Before the outbreak of the German occupation of France during World War II, Andre hides the paintings from the Nazis. After the war, Lisette sets out to find the paintings.
My review: I dove right into the book and read about 100 pages right away. You can tell that Vreeland has spent much time researching all the details of the book…the information about the artists, the Provincial countryside, what life was life during the German occupation. I appreciated the details but I did feel like the book was a little long. The character development was pretty predictable even though I did care for the characters. There’s not much explicit language or adult themes here.
Rating: 3.75/5
About FDL Reads
Welcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library. Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each week at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available. If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently. We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!