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Where the Light Falls {Book Review and Giveaway}

February 10, 2013 by Elizabeth

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

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At the dawn of the Belle Epoque, an artist in Paris tells his students to “study where the light falls and where the shadows lie.” In many ways, Where the Light Falls does just that–looks at the light and shadows in the lives of the American expatriates who flocked to Paris in the 1880s to learn art and life, and to find themselves and who they really want to be.

Jeanette Palmer knows she’ll get into trouble when she helps a fellow student elope from Vassar College with a young man considered unsuitable by the bride’s family. But she doesn’t expect to actually get expelled. At first she’s devastated, but she manages to talk her family into letting her go to Paris to study art, as long as she’s chaperoned by her middle-aged Cousin Effie, a spinster since her one true love was killed in the Civil War.

The two arrive, find a suitable pension, and enroll Jeanette in art school. They begin to make friends with other single women artists, some with male chaperones (brothers, husbands) and some there alone. We are offered a glimpse into Paris of that era, with its dingy attics that were too hot in summer and freezing in winter, its crooked and dirty alleyways, its quartiers that are now trendy and expensive but then were considered on the outskirts of town and very accessible to those of limited means. We see women beginning to make their way as serious artists, and the prejudices they  face as such. We see the temptations that befall them, to cheapen their work into sketches for money, to turn to the easy out of drug use to face difficult situations.

Where the Light Falls also follows the path of Edward Murer, a Civil War veteran now a pharmacist, struggling with an addiction to laudanum. Visiting Paris with his brother’s family after a trip to their family home in Germany, Edward decides to stay and begins to spend time with Jeanette and Effie. At the same time, Jeanette is beginning to win some recognition for her work. In a timeless quandary, she will have to decide how to balance art and love, or indeed if such a balance should even be attempted.

Where the Light Falls offers a tantalizing glimpse into Europe of the times. Jeanette, Effie and some of their friends spend the month of August in Brittany. Edward attends an art show of artists whose works weren’t permitted in The Salon, people like Monet, Cassatt and Degas. He spends some time in Italy and the south of France as well.

Characters grow, develop and change. My favorite was the character of Effie. Semi-despised by her nieces and nephews who she’s helped raise in her role as the washed-up, faded spinster aunt, she comes into her own as a independent woman in a new place where she’s accepted, or not, on her own terms. I also enjoyed watching Edward emerge from a lonely bachelorhood in Ohio to a man about town amongst the expatriates of Paris, and watching Jeanette develop as an artist and as a person, as she watches her friends face consequences of their actions.

Author Katherine Keenum drew upon her own family history as inspiration for this story. Her great-grandmother was dismissed from Vassar after helping another student elope and spent time in Paris. However, since none of her actual diaries have survived, Keenum drew on other sources and her own imagination to create the characters that people this novel. She has obviously researched the times and places she portrays, as they are well-presented and accurately drawn, and mix historical and fictional characters.

I’m pleased to announce that one of you can win a copy of Where the Light Falls. Just enter to win in the rafflecopter below.

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About Elizabeth

Elizabeth is a voracious reader with eclectic tastes who loves being part of the team at 5 Minutes for Books. She's lived in 7 countries and is currently in Oregon, where she spends most of her time with Iraqi refugees. She has 3 teens.

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62 Comments

  1. susan smoaks says

    February 23, 2013 at 2:36 pm

    i do most of my reading in the bathtub

    Reply
  2. rachel travis says

    February 23, 2013 at 2:33 pm

    On the couch in front of the fireplace or in bed!

    🙂

    Reply
  3. Allison says

    February 23, 2013 at 1:58 pm

    Before bed! All curled up

    Reply
  4. cassandra mccann says

    February 23, 2013 at 1:19 pm

    my living room

    Reply
  5. Caitlin McClure says

    February 23, 2013 at 12:03 pm

    I mostly read before sleep

    Reply
  6. Kimberly Hilbert says

    February 23, 2013 at 10:47 am

    I do most of my reading right before bed.

    Reply
  7. James Coyne says

    February 23, 2013 at 10:37 am

    In my bedroom

    Reply
  8. Lisa says

    February 23, 2013 at 9:58 am

    right before bed

    Reply
  9. Kari Flores says

    February 23, 2013 at 6:10 am

    In the middle of the day, outside relaxing on the porch.

    Reply
  10. Charlene S says

    February 23, 2013 at 3:45 am

    I like to read at night.

    Reply
  11. Stephanie Larison says

    February 22, 2013 at 11:59 pm

    Right before bed.

    Reply
  12. mary renshaw says

    February 22, 2013 at 10:53 pm

    I read the most in the spring or summer while the kids are outside playing and I sit close by and watch and read. Also before bed!

    Reply
  13. Julia Packer says

    February 22, 2013 at 10:03 pm

    I read everynight after I lie down in bed, its peaceful and helps my eyes get ready for sleep

    Reply
  14. Valerie Taylor Mabrey says

    February 22, 2013 at 5:26 pm

    in bed at night
    vmkids3 at msn dot com

    Reply
  15. Ed Nemmers says

    February 22, 2013 at 4:30 pm

    In a comfortable chair!

    Reply
  16. kathy pease says

    February 22, 2013 at 1:58 pm

    I usually read at night in bed

    Reply
  17. Tricha says

    February 22, 2013 at 1:36 pm

    I love to read before bedtime

    Reply
  18. Paula Tavernie says

    February 22, 2013 at 1:00 pm

    At night!
    ptavernie at yahoo dot com

    Reply
  19. Jennifer Paige says

    February 21, 2013 at 11:44 pm

    I do most of my reading before bed, makes me sleepy.

    Reply
  20. Charlotte Padgett says

    February 21, 2013 at 6:52 pm

    I’m single so I read in bed.

    Reply
  21. Rebecca Peters says

    February 21, 2013 at 4:09 pm

    I like to read BEfore bed

    Reply
  22. Beth C says

    February 21, 2013 at 3:20 pm

    i read at night

    Reply
  23. LOIS PAYTON says

    February 21, 2013 at 11:48 am

    in the afternoon, GOD BLESS YA’LL

    Reply
  24. Hesper Fry says

    February 21, 2013 at 10:59 am

    I read in the evening before I go to bed.

    Reply
  25. april yedinak says

    February 21, 2013 at 10:38 am

    I read all day long- when I am eating, cooking, watching TV, etc. I always have a book with me.

    Reply
  26. Kelli B says

    February 21, 2013 at 5:21 am

    I like to read before I go to sleep.

    Reply
  27. Darlene Ysaguirre says

    February 20, 2013 at 11:17 pm

    Late at night after hubby and kids go to sleep

    Reply
  28. danielle lima says

    February 20, 2013 at 8:44 pm

    at night before bed

    Reply
  29. Van says

    February 20, 2013 at 6:32 pm

    More so on the weekends.

    Reply
  30. Katie says

    February 20, 2013 at 6:01 pm

    On lunch hour or before going to bed

    Reply
  31. Linda White says

    February 20, 2013 at 4:30 pm

    In the evening before bedtime.

    Reply
  32. Don says

    February 20, 2013 at 10:41 am

    Sometimes during lunch hour.

    Reply
  33. Shannon Baas says

    February 20, 2013 at 12:04 am

    in the evening while relaxing.

    Reply
  34. Edna Williams says

    February 19, 2013 at 7:18 pm

    I do most of my reading during the evening before I go to sleep.

    Reply
  35. Karen Gonyea says

    February 19, 2013 at 3:58 pm

    In bed right before sleep 🙂

    Reply
  36. Daniel M says

    February 19, 2013 at 2:35 pm

    in bed before sleep

    Reply
  37. Chuck says

    February 19, 2013 at 10:12 am

    I get most of my reading done when I’m not feeling well.

    Reply
  38. Anita Yancey says

    February 18, 2013 at 2:18 pm

    I do most of my reading in the afternoon and early evening.

    Reply
  39. Beth C says

    February 18, 2013 at 10:12 am

    Most of my reading is done at night before I go to sleep.

    Reply
  40. June says

    February 18, 2013 at 9:20 am

    On long road trips in the car.

    Reply
  41. Mozi Esmes Mom says

    February 17, 2013 at 1:57 am

    Late night – after kiddo is sleeping…

    Reply
  42. Tammy Shelton says

    February 16, 2013 at 3:25 pm

    Bedtime, right before zzzzzzz

    Reply
  43. nannypanpan says

    February 15, 2013 at 11:16 pm

    at the beach
    [email protected]

    Reply
  44. Jenny says

    February 13, 2013 at 9:15 pm

    At night, before I go to sleep.

    Reply
  45. Lori D. says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:31 am

    I read a lot when I’m sick in bed.

    Reply
  46. Natalia says

    February 11, 2013 at 11:35 pm

    When the kids are in school

    Reply
  47. DEBIJOT says

    February 11, 2013 at 6:58 pm

    Usually right before bedtime.

    Reply
  48. Sandra K321 says

    February 11, 2013 at 6:24 pm

    In the evening when there isn’t anything on TV.

    Reply
  49. Carol Wong says

    February 11, 2013 at 6:17 pm

    Sorry, accidently posted twice.

    Reply
  50. Carol Wong says

    February 11, 2013 at 6:15 pm

    I do most of my reading in the evening when everything is done. Love that time of the day.

    Reply
  51. Carol Wong says

    February 11, 2013 at 6:13 pm

    I do most of my reading when everything is done. I really look forward to that time.

    Reply
  52. Stephanie Hanes says

    February 11, 2013 at 4:17 pm

    I often read at night after the kids are in bed or sometimes when I’m watching them take a bath. 😉

    Reply
  53. Jean Lewis says

    February 11, 2013 at 3:55 pm

    At night before bed. And on days off.

    Reply
  54. Cindi says

    February 11, 2013 at 2:43 pm

    My paternal grandmother came over here from Calais, France,with her
    parents on a cattle ship, around the time period
    of this book..
    I enjoy reading in our family room. I have a very comfortable
    chair to read in…
    Many thanks, Cindi

    Reply
  55. paige aka mrs. bacon says

    February 11, 2013 at 2:32 pm

    Usually, whenever I can get a few minutes…naptime, locked in the bathroom, before bed.

    Reply
  56. Liz V. says

    February 11, 2013 at 12:06 pm

    Any time I have a chance. Try to have a book with me always.

    Reply
  57. anne says

    February 11, 2013 at 11:57 am

    right before I go to sleep.

    Reply
  58. Garrett says

    February 11, 2013 at 11:39 am

    At night when I’m having a hard time getting to sleep.

    Reply
  59. Donna says

    February 11, 2013 at 1:39 am

    During the evening time

    Reply
  60. Wehaf says

    February 11, 2013 at 12:36 am

    I mostly read in the hour before I go to sleep.

    Reply
  61. amyc says

    February 10, 2013 at 10:27 pm

    During the evening after the kids are in bed.

    Reply
  62. Rose says

    February 10, 2013 at 9:43 pm

    I do most of my reading in the evening, before bed.

    Reply

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