3.5
The Marriage of Opposites
ByPublisher Description
“A luminous, Marquez-esque tale” (O, The Oprah Magazine) from the New York Times bestselling author of The Museum of Extraordinary Things: a forbidden love story set on a tropical island about the extraordinary woman who gave birth to painter Camille Pissarro—the Father of Impressionism.
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 older husband dies suddenly and his handsome, much younger nephew, Frédérick, 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.
“A work of art” (Dallas Morning News), The Marriage of Opposites showcases the beloved, bestselling Alice Hoffman at the height of her considerable powers. “Her lush, seductive prose, and heart-pounding subject…make this latest skinny-dip in enchanted realism…the Platonic ideal of the beach read” (Slate.com). Once forgotten to history, the marriage of Rachel and Frédérick “will only renew your commitment to Hoffman’s astonishing storytelling” (USA TODAY).
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 older husband dies suddenly and his handsome, much younger nephew, Frédérick, 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.
“A work of art” (Dallas Morning News), The Marriage of Opposites showcases the beloved, bestselling Alice Hoffman at the height of her considerable powers. “Her lush, seductive prose, and heart-pounding subject…make this latest skinny-dip in enchanted realism…the Platonic ideal of the beach read” (Slate.com). Once forgotten to history, the marriage of Rachel and Frédérick “will only renew your commitment to Hoffman’s astonishing storytelling” (USA TODAY).
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities923 Reviews
3.5
tothestarswho_listen
Created 10 days agoShare
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“I really enjoyed the first half of this story. The shift in pov halfway in took me out of the story for a bit but overall I understand he shift and enjoyed the full story”
Katie Waggett
Created 25 days agoShare
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“A beautifully written and emotionally rich novel with lush, descriptive prose and an atmospheric historical setting. Rachel’s story is touching and inspiring, though the slow pace and dense style may not be for everyone. The characters feel multilayered and morally complex, and the vivid portrayal of 19th-century St. Thomas adds depth. A strong finish makes the journey worthwhile.”
BelievableChange and growLikeableMemorableMorally ambiguousMultilayeredOriginalRelatableStrong relationshipsUnforgettable protagonistSatisfying conclusionSlow start, strong finishWell-structuredAtmosphericBeautifulEnchantedEtherealEvocative imageryHistoricalIdyllicImmersive world-buildingLushMagicalMysticalRealisticSetting fits the storyUnique locationVivid descriptionsBeautifully-writtenDescriptiveFlowery/lushOriginalChild lossDeathGriefMisogynyReligious intolerance
Created about 1 month ago
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Melissa
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“Great writing up until the last 3 pages and then I’m not sure what happened. Epic story over the main character’s lifetime.”
About Alice Hoffman
Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The Book of Magic, Magic Lessons, The World That We Knew, Practical Magic, The Rules of Magic (a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick), the Oprah’s Book Club Selection Here on Earth, The Red Garden, The Dovekeepers, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, The Marriage of Opposites, and Faithful. She lives near Boston.
Other books by Alice Hoffman
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