I've never read anything by Cathleen Schine before, but I really enjoyed this part-historical fiction novel, part-COVID pandemic novel. The book centers on Mamie Künstler who fled Nazi-controlled Vienna with her family as a child in 1939. We then fast-forward to the beginnings of lockdown in 2020, and her grandson, Julian, is stuck with her for the better part of a year. The two are an unlikely pair, but they grow closer together while Mamie shares anecdotes from her life.

There's a lot to like about this book, but I really appreciated the almost meandering format. Mamie's memories jump around from her childhood upon entering the United States to adulthood to more recent moments as a ninety-three year-old woman. She found herself in many unique situations, and I also appreciated that she aided in the transformation of her grandson from a bit of a brat at the beginning to something that resembled a maturing young adult.

Overall, this was a very interesting, sweetly comedic look into a few unique characters. Fans of historical fiction will be impressed.

I have read several books by this author and am always left feeling disappointed. This one was no exception. Set during the height of the pandemic I found it to be depressing and doomsday-ish. Also the whole immigrants escaping WW2 Europe for the US is such a tired topic and the tie in to living in California never quite made sense. I liked that the main character, Julian sent to California to be with his grandmother a nice plot but it was just her telling him a lot of stories that didn't really contribute to the overall story. The whole name dropping of celebs never fit it either so that was definitely lost on me. Overall, it was an ok read. The jacket photo was probably one of the better parts of the book.

Every moment was a struggle for me in this book. The narration was pretty good but even the best narrator can't make a book interesting. I've read Schine's earlier book and enjoyed it very much. I gave up on this one about 30% in.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This one was a bit of a struggle. There were some parts that I really enjoyed and the stories. But Julian was not at all a likable character to me. I also did not like the political views thrown in. I never like it when an author throws politics into a novel.
So while there were some good parts there was a lot I didn’t like.

DNF'd at 33% - I really struggled with the story - Julian was not likable at all - and I was having trouble connecting with the narrator.

Answer the following questions to determine if you will like this book:
1. Did you vote for Biden?
2.Have you "doubled masked" at any point in the past 3 years?
3.Did you drive alone in your car with a mask on?
4.Do you believe restaurants should allow dogs?
5. Do you drive a Subaru/Hybrid/or EV (Bonus points if you have > 5 bumper stickers)

If you answered yes to any of the questions above you will probably find this book incredibly fitting into the script of your life,

This book was incredibly boring and basically just Schine's opportunity to remind us of how terrible the "lock down" was. Including one scene where Julian and Sofie (masked-yes she has to remind us of how "safe" they were" ) held hands--but not holding hands 6 feet apart....Yup so many reminders of the "rules" we were forced to follow.
Oh and then the final blow at the end how once the jab came out, life got better--oh please.
This was NOT what I was expecting.

Big Pass.

*Let's not even talk about the PC "drops" she included.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy of this book. I was not influenced in any way for this honest review.

Kunstlers in Paradise is Mamie’s story as told to her grandson 80 years later. Mamie, who, with her family, was 12 when she escaped the Nazi invasion of Vienna just before the war and made it to Los Angeles, tells Julien, her aimless Gen Z grandson who grew up privileged on the Upper West Side, her history during the Covid shutdown. I liked how the author set up the juxtaposition of the two generations and the two historical worldwide events (she told him the story during the COVID Lockdown) were a nice backdrop for the story.

I love Cathleen Schine so I was very excited to get this audiobook. Also just for personal backdrop I too have a grandparent that lived through the horrors of WWII and whose experiences colored how he lived the rest of his life. I also have regrets that I didn’t have Julien’s opportunity to get his stories down before he died.

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read it rather than listened because Schine’s sharp humor is definitely there but muted. That being said, I still really enjoyed the story. The characters were great – Mamie was wonderful, her grandfather and the friends they met were fun to listen to and the story of the Kunstlers acclimating were warm and funny. I didn’t enjoy as much the modern-day sections of the book however.

I’ve been debating the rating for a few days now. While I hate to do this since the story should have been more compelling and the author is a favorite, I have to give it a three and a half star rating, I would have given it a three but I think it may have been four if I had read the actual book.

Thank you NetGally, Henry Holt Books and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to preview this.

Okay, this one hurt to digest. I've received both an audiobook version and a physical copy from Henry Holt Books and Macmillan Audio. Don't get me wrong, this was a wonderfully produced collection of chapters, but this narrative saddened me. It was hard for me to get through, as my family also originates in the Hungarian regions of Eastern Europe, and I felt a lot of the residual family trauma within this book. I would be interested to learn more of the freshly transplanted refugees during this time across the cultural groups, so I do appreciate it for its historical accuracy.