Some really insightful thoughts on the parallel lives of two women (one current, one historical). I really liked the emotional layers built as we got to know the protagonist and what underlies the choices she makes. ( )

The heroine of this novel is silly, shallow, and self-absorbed. It is as if Carrie Bradshaw had children and became obsessed with George Sand. This would not be a deal-killer for me--I like lots of novels with flawed, unlikable protagonists--were it not for the fact that the author doesn't seem to regard her as such, and in fact seems to want me to relate to her and root for her. I can do neither.

Two stars instead of one because there really are some nice passages about life and books, despite the vapidity of the heroine. ( )

The heroine of this novel is silly, shallow, and self-absorbed. It is as if Carrie Bradshaw had children and became obsessed with George Sand. This would not be a deal-killer for me--I like lots of novels with flawed, unlikable protagonists--were it not for the fact that the author doesn't seem to regard her as such, and in fact seems to want me to relate to her and root for her. I can do neither.

Two stars instead of one because there really are some nice passages about life and books, despite the vapidity of the heroine. ( )

Rosalind Brackenbury has written a book that is rich in language, exploring love and all its facets. Becoming George Sand's intertwined stories of self and what love means to self are presented in imagery that illustrates Brackenbury's talent as a writer. I thoroughly enjoyed this book for both the story as well as the use of words/sentence structure. ( )

The description of this book, at least as I wrote it, does not remotely do the book credit. Largely because the story is not the real point. I mean, it is and it isn't. More than being about a plot it's about what it's like being a woman, about the spaces between love and marriage, about feminism, and about literature and language. The writing is completely gorgeous, sucking me in from the first pages, even though the opening scenes chronicle the affair, a thing in which I have little interest. To me, there is no excuse for cheating and I do not believe Maria's romanticized idea of it (and not just because I know what happens later); the treatment of the affair in early pages reminds me of Chretien de Troyes, and how in that time folks believed that true love had to be extramarital.

Rather than speaking to what I loved and didn't (what little there was of that) as I usually do, I really want to include some of my favorite quotes and let the author speak for herself.

"'You can't be loved whatever you do. You have to be someone good, to be loved. People can't just love you for existing.'
'Hmm. Well, maybe. You don't believe in unconditional love?'
'Yes, I do, but it's for babies. You have to be worthy of love.'" (221).

"That's it, the last gesture of a long friendship lived over distance and time, without frequent meetings, between two languages; a friendship built over books, plays, poems, the written word." (252).

"What is it she needs, at this point in her life? To touch another life, to have it touch hers. To create, to understand. To give back. To be part of a whole." (286)


Brackenbury obviously wholeheartedly loves and appreciates literature, which makes her such a joy to read. I now want to check out George Sand and to read a biography of her life, as she sounds fascinating. ( )