A beautifully written book about Elizabeth Bishop and a missing year in her life that remains very mysterious because there is no record of what she was doing at that time. Set in Paris just before World War II Elizabeth is recruited into rescuing Jewish children from Nazi Germany. Whether this happened or not is mute because the writing is so beautiful, it is very like Elizabeth Bishop's poetry.

#Paris,7AM #NetGalley
Liza Wieland’s new book of historical fiction is about a would be poet, Elizabeth Bishop, who is graduating from Vassar and going to Europe, mainly Paris, in the late 1930’s and early 40’s. She had a tough time growing up, losing her father early and then having her mother institutionalized. Elizabeth also blames herself for a friend’s suicide.
The prose is very artsy since that is how she thinks.
This quote, from the book, sums up the story quite well. “Something awful is lying in the shadows, in wait, some bloodied, menacing, monstrous thing that no one can imagine.”
Elizabeth meets some very interesting people including several connected with the Fuhrer. She unknowingly becomes a participant to help smuggle Jewish infants out of the country and must promise never to tell anyone. This will haunt and influence her forever.
It’s an interesting story. However, it only gives brief glimpses of her later life in the United States. There is good characterization and should appeal to women, especially those interested in the arts.

It was evident that much research preceded the writing of this novel. However, the style of writing masked the depth of the story. I very much enjoyed learning more about Elizabeth Bishop, but the read was tedious.

I hadn’t realized that Elizabeth was a real person. I liked the descriptions of Elizabeth and her friends and life at Vassar. After graduation they decide to go to Paris. I enjoyed Elizabeth’s travels outside Paris and meeting other people.

I had wanted to see the relationship between Clair and Elizabeth grow more or seem more important to the book.
Elizabeth just didn’t seem to be as present as a main character should be but am unsure if that is how she was in real life or the book?

It was interesting to read about Paris in this time period before WW2. I would be interested to read some other book by this author as I liked how she described the scenes.

I hate to give poor reviews, but this book was just not for me. The writer's style was not appealing and the plot of the story seemed to disappear. I love poetry and history based fiction but I could not interested in this story.

I was interested in this novel because I love Elizabeth Bishop's poetry. I found the storyline hard to follow and wished the focus on Bishop was stronger.

1937 Paris. The poet Elizabeth Bishop and friends arrive in Paris after graduating from colkege. Although Bishop was an ardent journal writer, there are three weeks unaccounted for in her journals. The author provides a fictionalized account of what may have happened during those three weeks.
Reading this book felt like I was reading Bishop's poetry, observant and dream like, almost detached. This was actually my favorite part.
The book starts while she is still at Vassar, this was a bit too long for me - but sets up Bishops character and mindset.
I recommend reading the poem 'Paris 7 a.m.'
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this boo

This was a DNF for me at around 58%. I enjoyed the writing style to an extent. I liked how it felt like a poem, but at some parts I was just completely lost as to where in the world the characters were, what was truly happening and not a thought in Bishops imagination, and what on earth the character were talking about. I'm sure it'll be inserted when it's released, but without quotation marks, it took me a couple beats to figure out who was talking and if it was actual dialogue. I'm sure others will enjoy it more than I did, and I'm a fan of historical fiction, but again this book just wasn't for me.

I looked at some reviews that said "this book was not for me" and I have to say I 100% agree. Elizabeth Bishop seems to have had an interesting life but it was not captured in the book. The first half of the book was about her in college and a trip to Paris after Vassar where she meets the upper-crust in Paris.. Not much really happened in this time and the book was trying too hard to be poetic. At times the book is difficult to follow. That may be due to the lack of parentheses. Fortunately, half way through the book Elizabeth was in a car wreck and eventually, the story about the Jewish orphans she helped save was written about. The book ended with 9 short chapters from 1940-1979 that gave a brief look at Elizabeth's life over that time period. By this point I did not care and wanted this book to end. I actually had learned more on Wikipedia about Elizabeth Bishop than I took away from this book. I would not have finished this book if I did not want to provide a review to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy of this book.

I love historical fiction but I couldn't get into this one... I don't know if it was the writing style but I struggled to finish reading.

I received a review copy in exchange for a honest review.

This is a novel that captures how a poet sees and thinks about the world. Never having read about Elizabeth Bishop before, I loved the journey of her life. It’s not always pretty, joyful, or painless but it is raw and unstaged.

I am not sure how to review this book. It was easy to read but hard to understand. It follows the story of Elizabeth from college to her elder years. It spoke about her relationships her entire life. I felt like it was a description of her life more than a story. I found it hard to follow because I couldn't figure out if it was her daydreaming, thinking of the past or the current time. I have a feeling this story just wasn't for me.

I loved. This book. It kept me interested till the end. It had a wonderful setting and characters and was rich with atmosphere.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read for an honest review. I love the concept of this story. The writing style is something I’m not very used to, but it did not take away from the story. After a few chapters I became accustomed to the style.
Looking forward to more from Liza.

I was so excited to read this ,but a was disappointed. I could not get into it and a love historical fiction. The plot has so much promise,but it just fell flat for me.

This was a lovely novel, filled with gorgeous settings and romantic characters. I enjoyed following the trials and tribulations of the heroine and her leading men. She was extremely moving and I found myself rooting for her. I highly recommend this novel.

I knew immediately that this novel wasn't for me. As much as I like historic fiction, I couldn't get through this one. The style of writing actually turned me off and so I've abandoned the book. What a shame, since I have a feeling it would have been something I would have enjoyed, but for the narrative. And while this isn't "biographical" in detail since there is nothing behind it to substantiate Ms. Bishop's 3 weeks in Paris, the author could have written it (or imagined it) so much differently to entertain the reader. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth Bishop, the renowned poet, went to Paris for 3 weeks with her college friends. The year was 1937. The world was changing quickly and war was on the horizon. They are all Vassar students and Paris was not all they expected.
It should be noted that during this time she made no notes of her activities so it’s conjecture on the author’s part.
Their adventures during Elizabeth’s formative years will affect her dramatically. The main drawback is the unevenness of the story line.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an ARC OF THIS BOOK.

I thought I would enjoy this book much more than I actually did. I wanted more of a focus on Elizabeth Bishop and her work, but that aspect felt lacking. The narrative style was not my favorite either. Overall the story had the potential to be much better but fell short. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The story is supposed to be concentrated on Elizabeth Bishop’s three weeks in Paris, but 15% through the story she is still in NY and there is very little substance to the story.

As the story starts it jumps from one place to another not making much sense, at some points, with a style of writing – trying to be poetic it makes even less sense.

This is not a book for me.