The Marriage Of Opposites Pdf is a Historical Fiction Romance and Jewish Literature novel By Alice Hoffman. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things: a forbidden love story set on the tropical island of St. Thomas about the extraordinary woman who gave birth to painter Camille Pissarro; the Father of Impressionism.
The Marriage Of Opposites Book Summary
Growing up on idyllic St. Thomas in the early 1800s, Rachel dreams of life in faraway Paris. Rachel’s mother, a pillar of their small refugee community of Jews who escaped the Inquisition, has never forgiven her daughter for being a difficult girl who refuses to live by the rules. Growing up, Rachel’s salvation is their maid Adelle’s belief in her strengths, and her deep, life-long friendship with Jestine, Adelle’s daughter. But Rachel’s life is not her own. She is married off to a widower with three children to save her father’s business. When her husband dies suddenly and his handsome, much younger nephew, Fréderick, arrives from France to settle the estate, Rachel seizes her own life story, beginning a defiant, passionate love affair that sparks a scandal that affects all of her family, including her favorite son, who will become one of the greatest artists of France.
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About Alice Hoffman Author Of The Marriage Of Opposites Pdf Book
Alice Hoffman Author Of The Marriage Of Opposites Pdf is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The World That We Knew; The Marriage of Opposites; The Red Garden; The Museum of Extraordinary Things; The Dovekeepers; Here on Earth, an Oprah’s Book Club selection; and the Practical Magic series, including Practical Magic; Magic Lessons; The Rules of Magic, a selection of Reese’s Book Club; and The Book of Magic. She lives near Boston.
The Marriage Of Opposites pdf, Paperback, Hardcover Book Information
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster; First Edition (August 4, 2015)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 384 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1451693591
- ISBN-13 : 978-1451693591
- Item Weight : 1.3 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #116,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #162 in Jewish Historical Fiction
- #292 in Jewish Literature & Fiction
- #7,809 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews: 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,411 ratings
The Marriage Of Opposites Book Reviews
VINE VOICE
4.0 out of 5 stars Great for the First Half, but Then…
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 1, 2015
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Author Alice Hoffman once again succeeds (but only partially) with her lyrical prose, giving us a vivid description of the island of St. Thomas, her pen painting it in water-colored impressionist shapes and hues. Settings are life-like, yet surreal. The reading experience is of stepping into a painting, much like Alice through the looking glass.
While plot typically is driven with events, they become minor points. What clearly drives this story is its protagonist, Rachel. Rachel, as a child, vexed her own mother so, that she damned her with the ages-old curse, of someday being tormented by a child like herself. She was a dutiful daughter–to a point–but clearly, lived her life as she saw fit, defying the tenets of her society.
Hoffman’s storytelling excelled for about the first half of the book. Life on the island, its native inhabitants (slaves and freed men), and the European immigrants were fascinating. Descriptions of people, dwellings, foods, tropical plants, politics, clothing, etiquette, customs, medicinal herbs, and travel all brought the reader into this story of historical fiction. We saw life through Rachel’s eyes. Then, without warning, the perspective changed. This was no longer Rachel’s story. Hoffman brushed her aside to bring us (one assumes) the real reason she wrote her book; namely to introduce to us Jacobo Camille Pissaro, the father of Impressionism–one of her sons. It left me feeling adrift, as if I were abandoned as the solitary inhabitant of an island, watching the ship on which I was traveling, sailing off without me.
Until this moment, this was a five-star book. Then, Rachel’s other children were neatly stored away, like so much memorabilia in trunks never opened. As Camille’s presence grew, they retreated to ghostly insignificance. Hoffman lost me here. If her intention was to create the background story of Camille’s mother, it would have been better done in the form of flashbacks, leaving him as the protagonist. It’s not that her writing style and abilities changed, it’s that the focus did, and I didn’t like it. That dropped my rating to three stars.
If you have enjoyed reading Hoffman’s other stories (such as The Dovekeepers), you will like her thorough research, style and adroit storytelling in The Marriage of Opposites. Just be aware of the story’s sudden metamorphosis into a completely different tale. Hence, a rating of four stars.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Life Painted in Words
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 23, 2016
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If you are a lover of beautiful language and historical fiction, this is definitely a book for you. Alice Hoffman’s novel about the beloved Parisian artist, Camille Pissaro, comes alive as she paints with words, a beautifully described life on the island of St. Thomas in the early 1800’s. All of the characters are wonderfully described and portrayed, especially Camille’s mother, Rachel Pomie’, who is a strongwilled, deeply rebellious, girl who wishes only to read and visit Paris. Her mother, a taciturn and mysterious, woman tries in vain to get Rachel to conform to a culture in which women are property and are to be seen and not heard. Rachel’s father, a respected business man in the small Jewish community, runs a mercantile business which will ultimately be passed down to male heir. Fearing the worst, he arranges a marriage for Rachel which will protect and
ultimately grow the store. Rachel’s best friend, confidant, and seer, tells her that this will not be her only marriage, but true love will ultimately come to her. Rachel marries the older widower, Isaac, who has three children. They will go on to have four more together. While not actually loving each other in the traditional sense, they have a respectable and comfortable life together. Upon his death, the store goes to Frederick, Isaac’s nephew, who arrives in St. Thomas from Paris. He and Rachel eventually fall in love, but are denied marriage within the Jewish community because of a technicality in their laws. They go on to have seven children, Camille is the youngest, and has inherited his mother’s strong willed personality with a tendency to go against the grain. His life is devoted to art along with solving an island mystery for someone he loves deeply.
While this review might give the impression of a romance novel, it goes much deeper than that. All of the characters come to life as their personalities are painted onto this canvas. This is a richly written book with mystery and mystique woven into every page. From the occult of the culture to the rich heritage of the Jewish community, you will want to savor every word of this majestically crafted book.
5.0 out of 5 stars Life Stories
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 17, 2022
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A haint blue book of self regulation of a world in flux. It sweeps up your attention and holds it captive. Forget the work you have to do and enjoy the generations of change because they are not fiction they are real. Look behind you.
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