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APlazek
Jul 13, 2014APlazek rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Lisette’s List by Susan Vreeland Lisette’s List artfully evokes a sense of time and place – you can smell the lavender and hear the Mistral. Lisette is a young Parisian newlywed when she and her husband, Andre are summoned to Roussillon in southern France just before World War II to care for his ailing Grandfather, Pascal. Upon arriving they discover Pascal is not nearly as ill as previously thought, but nonetheless remain to care for him in his small Provencal village. Pascal’s sparse home contains 7 works of art by famous impressionists, but not even a cushion for the hard chairs and wooden settee. The stories behind the paintings are the reason for the summons. Pascal knew each of the painters and longs for Andre and Lisette to learn about and appreciate the art, as they are his legacy. His advises to Lisette to “do the important things first” inspiring her to create a list of life goals that she titles Lisette’s List of Hungers and Vows. Vreeland weaves the story of these fictional characters into a beautiful story of love, loss, war, family and belonging with a glimpse into the lives of Cezanne, Pissarro and Chagall. This novel will appeal to fans of The Monument Men or Peter Mayle.