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Mistral's Daughter (1984)

Mistral's Daughter (1984)

Book Info

Author
Genre
Rating
3.91 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
0553259172 (ISBN13: 9780553259179)
Language
English
Publisher
bantam

About book Mistral's Daughter (1984)

This novel sweeps fifty years of art and fashion and women.The story starts with Magali, born a bastard because her father died of smallpox before he could marry her mother. At seventeen she ran away to become a model, became wildly successful thanks to Paula Deslandes, and fell ruthlessly in love with Mistral. But Kate Browning showed up on the scene and Maggy left. She had a daughter with a rich American (married), waited for him to get divorced, but he died before that was possible, and Théodore was born. She grew up ostracized until college, where she played with boys' hearts until she met Mistral.They fell wildly in love, and had Fauve. Mistral, however, was married to Kate Browning. Even had a daughter, Nadine. And so Fauve was born a bastard as well. These are the five women connected to Mistral, and though only three of them count, both Kate and Nadine have very vital importance in the narrative. Kate is the reason Maggy leaves, the reason she falls in love with the rich American, and in the end the reason Teddy is born. She is part of the reason that Fauve went to live with her grandmother, and she is the reason for the separation between Fauve and Julien.And Nadine is a twisted creature, slightly reminescent of Cathy from East of Eden. She'll do anything for status, anything for friends and money and the social life. I can't understand her, but she's one of the people that's necessary in this world. One of her last actions in the book is gruesome, but it provides the catalyst for the last half. And she's grown into something just as cruel as her mother, in a way, only perhaps a bit worse. By the way, if you haven't read East of Eden yet, go and do yourself a favor and pick it up.Both Kate and her daughter are hateful creatures, but without them, there simply wouldn't be this book. Maggy would not have fallen in love with Perry, and she would not have had Teddy. And if Teddy had not been born, Fauve would not be either. And if Fauve hadn't been chased away by Kate, neither Julien nor Fauve would have grown. And though they're hateful creatures, they have motivations. Motivations that shine out and make them real enough to make one shiver.I'm not sure which of the Lunel girls I liked the most.Maggy, who struck out on her own at the age of seventeen and became famous, scandalous, and then famous again? Who started her own business? We know Maggy the longest. We see her grow from seventeen to fifty-something. We see all her life— Mistral, Perry, Darcy. Though she fades out of the spotlight when Teddy and then Fauve come onto the scene, there is still enough of her in it that you don't miss it much. Maggy is steadfast and reliable and you can see her change— not just because Darcy notices, too. I loved her proposal scene.Teddy I could not respect for a while. A hedonistic lifestyle is never something I could appreciate. Drinking and partying and flirting with boys just didn't make sense. And then she fell in love. In a way we know less about Teddy than any of the other girls, and yet… it's alright. She is ridiculously carefree in a way most people don't ever expect to be, and she's wildly happy up until the very end.Fauve grows up loved and sheltered and loved. I loved the descriptions of her as a baby, her meetings with her father… and I loved her ball, when she meets 'Roland.' She's quiet, determined, and in a way the character we get to know the most. Though we meet her 3/5ths of the way through, she promptly takes over the rest of the novel and holds it. And she's spellbinding and joyous. I read this book when I was seventeen. Fauve falls in love and becomes an adult at sixteen. And she does it in a way that's more accessible to me than Maggy's growing up (escaping from home) or Teddy's growing up (losing her lifestyle). Fauve becomes grown up by losing her faith in her father.Mistral I could not understand. I was never as passionate about anything as he is. But the paintings— I would like to see paintings like what his are described as.Perry is understandable— a bit of an uncle.Darcy is funny— his meeting with Maggy, his relationship with Maggy and Fauve… he's steadfast.And Eric? He's a dear. He's exactly, almost, what any girl would want. Except for the architecture, perhaps, but then, if he was not obsessed with architecture parts of the story would never have happened.It's a beautiful, nuanced book. I love books with nuances and characters and in-depth details about each of them. This is exactly what that book was. At first I was put off by the fact that there are 'three generations of women, all linked to Mistral,' but then I read it and I was engrossed. Entranced. It's definitely worth a read.

Very interesting book. Very long book. I read a paperback versionwith 564 pages. At first I was confused about who was who. You have a grandmother who had a long ago affair, then her daughter from another affair has an affair with the same man. The daughter has a daughter with the man who the grandmother previously had an affair with!!! WHAT. So the story begins with the death of the main man who is a world famous artist. Not a particularly nice man, but very talented. His one true love was the daughter of the woman who he once had an affair with. He marries a woman who is a real piece of work and they have a daughter who is a huge piece of work. Wow.My only dissappointment was that it took so long for the story to wrap back around to present time. Opens with the death of the artist then goes back in time, through the affair with the grandmother, the grandmothers affair with the man who is the father of her daughter. Then the affair of the daughter and the author. GEEZ. Lots of affairs. All in alland excellent book.

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Incredibly well written book. I cannot begin to imagine the amount of research the author has had to put in to create this masterpiece. Each event is detailed just enough for everything to seem real, reading this book, I travelled both through time and from places to places. It was very interesting to see how intertwined the story of these three generation of strong ginger women and their lovers were. Despite how long the book was, I somehow I found myself interested about every detail of the story. I would gladly read this again in the future, and I would recommend it for sure to anyone who loves a bit of art and history as well as family stories.
—Charlie

I know, I know. But I loved this book. Loved it so much I've read it probably once every two years for the last 20 or so years. Seriously. I don't know if it's that I love the three generations of ginger women who inhabit this book, or because of the glamour of the settings and the people, or because she is actually a wonderful writer who paints lovely, and detailed pictures with her words, regardless of the fact that it's a glorified romance novel. It's a family saga, not just a love story. I've read other books by Krantz and enjoyed them for what they're worth but this one, for whatever reason, I can come back to again and again. (Yes I just read it again - Dec 2012)
—Tanya C.

This is an epic novel spanning three generations. Krantz uses this story (parallels to Vlaminck, Derain and Matisse and Picasso) to span Impressionism and the Fauves. She moves through world wars and and how people survived and tells these tales of perseverance through a three generation love story. It is a masterful historical romance.There was a mini series with Stacy Keach and Stephanie Powers which was not too bad, but I saw it in the late 80's so I am quite sure it won't hold up to the passage of time.SPOILERS---------------------------------------------------------------------------From IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086762/Plot Summary for"Mistral's Daughter" (1984) Beautiful and naïve Maggy Lunel arrives in Paris completely broke. She becomes an artist's model and the toast of Paris, attracting the attention of Picasso-like painter Julien Mistral, an arrogant and selfish man who places his work above everything. Their paths diverge as Mistral's art catches the eye of a rich American woman who becomes his patroness and eventually his wife. During the war years in France, Mistral collaborates with the Nazis in order to continue with his work, a decision that will come back to haunt him years later. In the meantime, Maggy has a daughter named Teddy who grows up and falls in love with Mistral with whom she has a child named Fauve. As Mistral ages, he comes to terms with his selfish past and wartime betrayal through his art, leaving a beautiful legacy for his daughter, Fauve.
—Amanda

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