Set in a Paris darkened by World War II, Sara Houghteling's sensuous and bracing debut novel tells the story of a son's quest to recover his family's lost masterpieces, looted by the Nazis during the occupation.
Born to an art dealer and his pianist wife, Max Berenzon is forbidden from entering the family's business for reasons he cannot understand. He reluctantly attends medical school, reserving his true passion for his father's beautiful gallery assistant, Rose. When Paris falls to the Nazis, the Berenzons survive in hiding, returning in 1944 to find that their priceless collection has vanished. Gone are the Matisses, the Picassos, and a Manet of mysterious importance. In Max's obsessive hunt to recover his father's paintings, he navigates a torn city of corrupt art dealers, black marketers, Résistants, and collaborators, uncovering not only paintings but the stories of Rose's heroism, the tragic disappearance of his closest friend, and the truth behind a devastating family secret.
Written with luminous historical detail, and as haunting as the paintings that are reprinted on its pages, Houghteling's novel conjures a mesmerizing world of art and artists, the melancholy of the end of an era, and a timeless story of fathers and sons.
Genre: Historical
Born to an art dealer and his pianist wife, Max Berenzon is forbidden from entering the family's business for reasons he cannot understand. He reluctantly attends medical school, reserving his true passion for his father's beautiful gallery assistant, Rose. When Paris falls to the Nazis, the Berenzons survive in hiding, returning in 1944 to find that their priceless collection has vanished. Gone are the Matisses, the Picassos, and a Manet of mysterious importance. In Max's obsessive hunt to recover his father's paintings, he navigates a torn city of corrupt art dealers, black marketers, Résistants, and collaborators, uncovering not only paintings but the stories of Rose's heroism, the tragic disappearance of his closest friend, and the truth behind a devastating family secret.
Written with luminous historical detail, and as haunting as the paintings that are reprinted on its pages, Houghteling's novel conjures a mesmerizing world of art and artists, the melancholy of the end of an era, and a timeless story of fathers and sons.
Genre: Historical
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Used availability for Sara Houghteling's Pictures at an Exhibition