What
I'm Reading Now
Vanished
Smile Did you know that the Mona Lisa,
probably the world's most famous painting, was stolen from
the Louvre in 1911 and was not recovered for over two years?
"Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa"
by R. A. Scotti details the events of that disappearance.
On Tuesday, August 22, 1911 it was discovered that the Mona
Lisa had been stolen. What was amazing was that the painting
had been stolen on Sunday. At that time, security was so
lax that workmen regularly removed works of art from the
walls of the Louvre for cleaning and restoration without
any type of formal notification or documentation. About
a day and a half of open museum time had gone by before
security guards were able or interested in establishing
that the painting had not been removed by museum officials.
This was a time of financial "robber
barons" so the expected suspects were an art theft
ring who stole to satisfy wealthy collectors. The book details
several individuals who either stole or copied masterworks
for these individuals. Interestingly, Pablo Picasso was
suspected of having played a role in the theft. He had been
the recipient of statuary that had been taken from the Louvre.
Without modern day sensitive electronics, many found it
very simple to pick an object from a display, hide it in
their clothing, and leave the building. The theft did occur
when forensic detection methods were just beginning to be
used. The knowledge that fingerprints are unique and obtainable
at a crime scene was becoming a part of police procedure.
The author exposes us to art history, detailing
the admiration held by France's king, Francois I for Leonardo
Da Vinci. Francois I had begun to convert the Louvre from
a fortress to a palace, collecting the art which would be
central to the Louvre's treasures today. He greatly appreciated
Leonardo's work and wished to move the fresco of the Last
Supper to France. Since that proved impractical, he persuaded
Leonardo to imigrate to France. Leonardo still had his Mona
Lisa portrait in his possession at his death. Eventually
Francois acquired it for his palace. The idea that such
a celebrated portrait of an Italian woman was in the possession
of France was claimed as a nationalistic motivation for
the crime. "Vanished Smile" is a wonderful portrait
of the art community of the time and a reminder of how unguarded
the world's treasures often have been.
[7-5-09]
How
to Buy a Love of Reading "How
to Buy a Love of Reading" by Tanya Egan Gibson is a first
novel filled with characters in pain. Gretchen and Francis
Wells have moved to Fox Glen, a prestigious New Jersey suburb
where the residents continually attempt to outdo each other
in excess. The story begins with a Sweet Sixteen party. The
attendees are presented with copies of their heads sculpted
by a noted artist. The Wells must top that for their daughter.
Carley is a disappointing daughter whose greatest failing
is that her personal trainer has stated she is 57 pounds overweight.
Her English teacher quoted her reply to what her favorite
book was as "I never met a book I liked." For some
misguided reason, her parents decide to purchase an author's
services to help Carley create her own novel to be featured
at her Sweet Sixteen party. Copies of the beautifully leatherbound,
gold stamped novel will be presented to each party-goer.
Carley is made miserable by the
hype of all this preparation. She tries so hard to ignore
all the size zero girls that surround her at school. The only
close friend she has is Hunter, a young man with problems
of his own. No one can understand their platonic friendship.
Hunter is the golden boy of the school. He excels in both
sports and academics and is irresistible to both his peers
and adults. Underneath it all, Carley realizes how troubled
he really is. He had been a sickly child before he moved to
Fox Glen with his divorced mother. The move was his chance
to create a new identity for himself. These two are children
of parents so wealthy that their excesses are far out of control.
Even though all the characters are larger than life and have
almost infinite amounts of money to spend on their whims,
the problems the families have are universal ones.
Bree McEnroy is the author hired
by Carley's parents to help Carley create her novel. Bree
is obsessed with Justin who has produced a novel that made
him a rock star of the literary world. When Bree learns that
Justin is living in Carley's neighborhood, very complicated
interactions begin. Bree feels that she must conceal her own
feelings of literary inferiority and still maintain her veneer
of literary capability. Her tangled prose and obscure literary
references provide another level of entertainment. The main
characters suffer from teen angst, but there are no happy
characters in this novel. [6-21-09]
I
See You Everywhere
The ways the lives of two sisters wrap around each other is
at the heart of "I See You Everywhere" by Julia
Glass. The novel is presented as the point of view of each
of the sisters at various intervals in their lives. They are
the daughters of an upper class couple who live in Rhode Island.
Their mother is a very enthusiastic woman obsessed with dogs,
horses, and fashion. Their father manages marinas for the
very wealthy. Louisa is four years older than Clem and in
many ways the more serious, more conservative of the two.
They are often in conflict, even though they don't always
acknowledge their differences. In the first episode, Louisa
has come home following the death of a great aunt. Although
the aunt was wealthy, Louisa is only interested in a minor
piece of jewelry for which she has a sentimental attraction.
Clem had been spending some time with the aunt as a quasi
caretaker and she casually pocked the necklace. Louisa never
confronts that loss and it is never mentioned again in the
novel. The women treat many of their disagreements that way.
Many differences are just accepted and any discussion is off
limits. The sisters follow roles which seem pre-set with no
opportunity to fully acknowledge either the love or the competition
they feel for each other. Their roles seem trapped in the
attitudes of young children who argue about which parent loves
them the best.
Flashbacks follow the teen years
when they shared fashion experiences, jewelry, and sports.
Louisa was the more focused sister with a plan for life. She
got a degree in art history and attempted to become a serious
potter. Gradually, she began writing magazine articles for
the art world and that eventually became a solid career at
a prestigious art journal. Clem was always more physical than
cerebral. Her passion connected her to the natural world.
She had short term jobs all over the world helping to preserve
the habitat of various wild animals from seals to grizzly
bears. The men she became involved with are an active part
of this world. Other than a memorable time when Clem "stole"
a man from her sister, they are never attracted to the same
type of man. Louisa has a solid, predictable marriage, but
Clem plays a sympathetic role when Louisa's marriage fails
under the burden of infertility. This novel thoroughly explores
the burden and pleasures of sisterhood. [6-7-09]
