The background and timeline of this historical novel are well researched and well presented, both in the US and in France. However, I never reached a place in the tale where I was feeling that there was a story involved. Just a listing of facts, of episodes in the life of these women, but as far as a to b to c to resolution, there was none of that. So while I learned more about pre-world war 2 in France and of the emotions and difficulties of living as a part of a lesbian community, I didn't enjoy the satisfaction of a solution to the questions and problems in the lives of these interesting ladies.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Liza Wieland, Simon & Schuster. Thank you for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this book of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.

Paris, 7 A.M. imagines 1937—the only year Elizabeth, a meticulous keeper of journals, didn’t fully chronicle—in vivid detail and brings us from Paris to Normandy where Elizabeth becomes involved with a group rescuing Jewish “orphans” and delivering them to convents where they will be baptized as Catholics and saved from the impending horror their parents will face.

I love historical fiction with a strong female protagonist when I read this one was about Elizabeth Bishop it really got my interest but sadly this was not for me. This novel felt as if it was more about narrative style and than plot substance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #Paris7AM

I've never heard of the "famous poet" Elizabeth Bishop, but I thought what the heck - - I must have missed that somehow while getting my English degree in college! So I went into the book with an open mind - but just couldn't muster up enough interest in the character or what happens, due in no small part to the style of writing. The lack of punctuation always bothers me and makes a book hard to read without mentally adding commas and quotation marks where needed. This distracts from the story and maybe that's part of the reason this book was a disappointment for me. As always, just my opinion.

As a lover of Historical Fiction, I must say this was a huge disappointment. Unfamiliar with Elizabeth Bishop, the focal character, I looked forward to learning about her accomplishments. Unfortunately I just did not enjoy the style of writing Ms. Wieland chose. I found it very difficult to follow, due to lack of any punctuation, what was real and what was imagined. I thank Netgalley for the ARC, but this was just not for me.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, Netgalley.com and Simon & Schuster. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Ms. Wieland has created an unchronicled period of Elizabeth Bishop's life in painstaking detail. The writing style is prose, yet her punctuation is in the style of poetry. The novel itself is written well, yet there is not a likeable character to be found. It seems highly unlikely that a young woman as self involved as Bishop is written in this book would be bothered to help Jewish babies out of danger. She was more interested in drinking, casual sex and obsessing over the one female friend that rebuked her romantic advances.

2 out of 5 stars. Not recommended.

This is another book that explores a what if scenario in the life of it’s character. The poet was in France for 3 weeks and this author supposes what could have happened to her then. I found the style to be a bit confusing, although the writing was quite beautiful.

Paris 7 am by Liza Wieland is the fictionalized story of the missing time in American poet, Elizabeth Bishop’s diary as she travels in France at the beginning of World War II. Bishop was a prolific journal keeper who wrote extensively about her life and activities. So, the missing time has intrigued scholars and biographers for years. The story opens with a dream. Elizabeth dreams of babies, babies attached to her like buttons and zippers. Then story then moves to 1930, Elizabeth is in college at Vassar with her roommate Margaret. In June 1937, Elizabeth Bishop arrives in France with her college roommates. They seek adventure and excitement away from the demands to find a husband and live quietly. But the world is changing with the growing threat of fascism and war on the horizon. They meet a group who pulls them into the underground world of rebellion and danger as they try to save child from the evils of the time.
Paris 7 am is, unfortunately, a book that was hard to finish. I hate when I must force myself to finish a book. However, I lost interest in this story and only finished for the purpose of this review. First, I cannot stand books which do not use quotation marks to indicate speech. It is very distracting and makes it hard to read. Second, the book takes way too long to get to why the time is missing from her journals and when it does, it’s over way too quickly. Third, according to the book’s official description: “Poignant and captivating, Liza Wieland’s Paris, 7 A.M. is a beautifully rendered take on the formative years of one of America’s most celebrated—and mythologized—female poets.” I have been reading poetry since college and I had never heard of Elizabeth Bishop. I had to look her up to check if she was even real. “One of America’s most celebrated female poet”? I’m not sure about that. I do not recommend Paris 7 am. The book’s description does not match the story at all.

Paris 7 am
is available in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook

A fictional account of a few weeks in the life of a noted (though unknown to me) poet before the start of the Second World War in Paris. I really wanted to like this book because I enjoy reading historical fiction, especially this time period. It just didn’t work for me. I felt that the book fell short of what I wanted. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

After graduating from Vassar, American poet Elizabeth Bishop went to France with two college friends. Here, author Liza Wieland imagines what might have happened to Bishop as a young woman in Paris in 1937. In the novel, Bishop forms relationships of various kinds with a young German woman who is in Paris because Berlin is no longer safe for her and an older woman who lost her own daughter some years earlier. There's a lot going on in this novel, from Nazis, to lesbians, to an amputated hand, to rescuing babies, to hanging out with everyone from Sylvia Beach to Marianne Moore. Yet it never feels over-packed. Wieland's writing is almost dreamy and stays focused on how Bishop perceives what's happening around her, rather than what is actually happening, which puts some of the events at a sort of remove, even as they're happening, while intensifying others.

There is a sense of slowly rising danger in this novel, not for Bishop and her American friends, who return to the US safely, although not without having been changed, but for the Europeans they encounter. Not all the Germans in France are Nazis, some are Germans who have found Germany unsafe for a variety of reasons. And while the heart of the story centers on secretly moving Jewish babies into the safety of a Catholic convent in Paris, the reader remains aware of what tenuous protection that will prove to be.

There are a number of novels out there imagining the details of the lives of famous literary and historical personages and a disproportionate number of them take place in Paris. But this is different enough and written so well as to be well worth reading.

Whenever a prolific journal keeper leaves a noteable gap in their writing, as was the case with poet Elizabeth Bishop, who neglected to write about the three weeks she spent in Paris prior to World War 2, it leaves an intriguing opening for a curious novelist to insert their ideas about what might have taken place during the period in question. Liza Wieland's imaginings for Bishop take the reader into France as the outlook for Jews in Europe grew more bleak, and has Bishop involved in an effort to rescue Jewish children by placing them within a convent. While there is some lead up to this time, with the book giving the reader a sense of Bishop's life at Vassar, her relationship with her roommate and some other acquaintances, and a glimpse of thoughts that feel integral to her writing life, the focus is more on her as a person and her experience abroad than as her as a budding poet. Readers hoping for great insight into her creative life will likely be disappointed. That said, Wieland's work is creative unto itself and takes on a fairly artistic approach. It makes for an enjoyable and interesting read as an experimental novel and one possible scenario for how Bishop spent her days in Paris.

This book is about the life of the poet, Elizabeth Bishop. The setting of the book is in Paris just before the war begins...WWII. I usually enjoy historical fiction and I especially like the time period of WWll but I just couldn’t get into this book. The premise of rescuing Jewish orphans appealed to me.
Thank you to NetGallery for the opportunity to read and give my honest review.

Paris, 7A.M. by Liza Wieland is my introduction to this author. I had high hopes that this would be a book for me but unfortunately it was not. I had a hard time with the way the author skipped around it made it very hard for me to follow. I had a hard time trying to figure out who was speaking. I felt that the last half of the book was very rushed. I can’t say this book was bad it just wasn’t for me. Thank you NetGalley and Simon Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love historical fiction novels, particularly about the early part of the twentieth-century. Throw in a Paris setting and I will eagerly read them. The central story in Paris, 7A.M., examines the dangers of being a lesbian during the 1930's, both in the United States and in Europe. I found the book to be hauntingly beautiful in its writing style. The only criticism I would have about this book is that the author assumes we all know who poet Elizabeth Bishop was, and how influential she would become. After a quick Google search, I was clued in and could truly appreciate this book.

What I Liked:
Narrative Style:

This book has a narrative style that is dream-like. Scenes volley between memories and current action. Timelines are seemingly optional. While this is confusing, at first, it becomes exhilarating.

Also, the descriptive nature of the writing is almost like Elizabeth Bishop's poetry (I actually did have some of her poems in my home in an anthology of 20th century poetry). Details are used to create impressions of mood and place. It was charming.

Story:

Although the synopsis from Goodreads makes this novel seem like it is all about Elizabeth Bishop's possible involvement with saving Jewish children just prior to the start of WWII, that is really only a small portion of the story. The book is actually about how young women who are gay find out how to live in a world that will crush them for being who they are. It's worth noting that this book debuts during Pride month. It is a stark reminder of how dangerous it is to who you are in a world that wants you to fit into an established mold.

Despite how careful Elizabeth is, she finds other lesbians and has some moments where she can let her guard down. Whether by accident or design, she gravitates toward women who are also gay. The tragedy is that in order to stay safe many of these women have to find husbands and pretend to be straight. Elizabeth, having an inheritance, is able to lead an independent life. You can understand her sorrow as she witnesses her friends efforts to blend in.

What I Was Mixed About:
Background:

My only very small criticism of this book is that I wish the author would have provided a small primer on who Elizabeth Bishop was. I am embarrassed to say that I wasn't familiar with her contributions to poetry and didn't know her life's story. This becomes an issue in the last portion of the book. There are several references to people that I didn't know about. After some researching, I realized that one of these people was a woman she was with for fifteen years! But there is no explanation as to how they fit into Elizabeth's life.

I will say that reading this book has inspired me to learn more about Elizabeth Bishop and her fascinating life.

I had never heard of Elizabeth Bishop nor had I heard of the author before, so I went into reading this pretty much blind. I doubt that I will read much, if anything, about Bishop as I don't seem to get poetry, but I hope to read the authors other books as I really liked this book. The parts of this book that felt like poetry were the least enjoyable parts. I thought the writing was o.k., descriptions made me feel like I was there, but it seemed sluggish at times and maybe that was because of the writing style. I enjoyed the friendship aspects of the book as I love to read about friends and what holds friends together. Even though I have fairly good things to say about this book, overall I don't think this was a book for me.

This was my first historical fiction and I couldn’t really get into it I tried but I ended up dnfing it it was too slow and I didn’t really understand what was going on at all

1937 is the only year of her life not chronicled in her journals, so Wieland has imagined at least part of it in this book. Throughout the story, Bishop graduates college and heads to Paris. In just three weeks, Bishop experiences several, life-changing incidents, including but not limited to smuggling a couple of Jewish babies to a safe house before the breakout of World War II.

Overall the story is good, and the writing is beautiful. I will admit, I skimmed some parts. I have always tried with poetry, but it’s not my favorite, and Wieland, fills the pages with flowery prose almost like the poetry of the subject. Perhaps I have read too many Sci-Fi books lately and am just not used to taking the time literary fiction requires to fully savor the words.

If you are a fan of literary fiction, historical fiction, and or Bishop herself, keep an eye out for this one on Tuesday (June 11th) at your favorite local bookstore or library. Also, check out the film, Reaching for the Moon, which chronicles the part of Bishop’s life she spent with Lota de Macedo SoaresIf.

For some reason, I could not get into this book. I usually love historical fiction and stories that are pretty realistic, but it never gripped me. I may come back and try to pick it back up, but for the time being it just didn’t do it for me.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I knew relatively little about Elizabeth Bishop before reading this book, and after reading it, still don’t know much. Of course, it is not a biography, but ostensibly an imagined accounting of a period of time not chronicled by her journals. However, the novel doesn’t focus exclusively on that period, but begins during her undergraduate years at Vassar (with flashbacks to her youth), and ends close to her death.

Wieland’s unique writing style defines the novel. Quotation marks are not used for dialogue, and a lot of the action is left to the readers’ imaginations. Some of the characters are not well developed, and seem to merge into one vague amalgam of Elizabeth’s friends/lovers.

Perhaps I just didn’t get it, but the novel seemed to me to lack a plot. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading it, so there’s that.

This is a tough one likely to divide fans of Elizabeth Bishop and challenge those who are not familiar with her writing style. Set primarily in Paris in 1937, it's an imagined history, with cameos (for want of a better word) of what happened during the only three weeks that Bishop did not chronicle in her diaries. Fans of novels about famous women will find this to be more or less a snapshot of a woman with an immense career; fans of Bishop might be frustrated by the same. Did Bishop really help rescue Jewish children? Her life has so many interesting aspects which are touched on but not fully explored. The writing can be occasionally frustrating but the images are terrific. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Those not familiar with 20th century poets may find themselves searching the internet for more info and, hopefully, reading their work.

A melodic, uniquely worded historical fiction, based on journal entries and the life of poet Elizabeth Bishop. Focusing on a visit to Paris at the beginning of World War II (late 1930's), a journey with friends and acquaintances making an impression on her world. This book felt as though it held an unusual rhythm to it: the story teller appeared somewhat detached, yet, at the same time made keen, detailed, sensory/textured, and thorough observations of her experiences. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.