Lisette's List

A Novel

By: Susan Vreeland

Narrated by: Kim Bubbs

Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

From Susan Vreeland, bestselling author of such acclaimed novels as Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Luncheon of the Boating Party, and Clara and Mr. Tiffany, comes a richly imagined story of a woman’s awakening in the south of Vichy France—to the power of art, to the beauty of provincial life, and to love in the midst of war.

In 1937, young Lisette Roux and her husband, André, move from Paris to a village in Provence to care for André’s grandfather Pascal. Lisette regrets having to give up her dream of becoming a gallery apprentice and longs for the comforts and sophistication of Paris. But as she soon discovers, the hilltop town is rich with unexpected pleasures.

Pascal once worked in the nearby ochre mines and later became a pigment salesman and frame maker; while selling his pigments in Paris, he befriended Pissarro and Cézanne, some of whose paintings he received in trade for his frames. Pascal begins to tutor Lisette in both art and life, allowing her to see his small collection of paintings and the Provençal landscape itself in a new light. Inspired by Pascal’s advice to “Do the important things first,” Lisette begins a list of vows to herself (#4. Learn what makes a painting great). When war breaks out, André goes off to the front, but not before hiding Pascal’s paintings to keep them from the Nazis’ reach. With German forces spreading across Europe, the sudden fall of Paris, and the rise of Vichy France, Lisette sets out to locate the paintings (#11. Find the paintings in my lifetime). Her search takes her through the stunning French countryside, where she befriends Marc and Bella Chagall, who are in hiding before their flight to America, and acquaints her with the land, her neighbors, and even herself in ways she never dreamed possible.

Through joy and tragedy, occupation and liberation, small acts of kindness and great acts of courage, Lisette learns to forgive the past, to live robustly, and to love again.

©2014 Susan Vreeland (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[Susan] Vreeland’s love of painters and painting, her meticulous research and the pitch-perfect descriptive talents that distinguished such books as Girl in Hyacinth Blue and Luncheon of the Boating Party are abundantly evident in her new novel.”—The Washington Post

“[Lisette’s List] great strength is its lovingly detailed setting, a mountaintop village—‘like some fantasy kingdom from a child’s folk legend, altogether dazzling’—whose charm gradually enwraps the reader just as it does the initially resistant Lisette. . . . Readers will enjoy lingering in the sun-dappled, fruit-scented Provençal landscape that Vreeland brings to life.”—The Boston Globe

“Part romance, part historical fiction, part travelogue, part art history text . . . Vreeland knows her art, she knows Provence, and she’s done her historical homework. . . . Lisette’s List offers its readers a pleasurable opportunity to learn something about art, history and ocher, and to enjoy a plucky heroine who grows in ways she never thought possible.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lovely writing

Lovely writing. I enjoyed the description of Roussillon, France and its environs. I have distant ancestors from there and plan to visit someday. The voice over actor is fantastic!

loved it

loved it so much i recommended it to my book club and re read in within a few weeks. it was just as good the second time. i regret i did not know of it before visiting the south of France. The sacrifice and measures to be thrifty and resourceful were inspiring.

Loved the Story and the Narrator

What a wonderful story and the narrator deserves 10 stars! Her French made me want to go back to school and start French class all over again. Vreeland's descriptions of people, places and art sent me to Google more than once to find out where fiction met fact. Lisette was a lovely woman. I want her as a best friend.

Delightful

The author has composef a remaranle novel composef of arthistory and World War Ii. The narrator enhances the experience with her acvent and soft manner. One of my favorited

charming

What made the experience of listening to Lisette's List the most enjoyable?

wonderful characters, charming story, a bit of a mystery, a love story times two. I really enjoyed it. will read again

I didn't want it to end

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The story line was fine - but secondary to my enjoyment of this book. The writing was beautiful. I was transported by Vreeland's descriptions of color, art, and the countryside. The discussion of French art and artists (Pissaro, Picasso, Chagall) was fascinating. One of the most enjoyable reads (listens) I've experienced in a while.

What about Kim Bubbs’s performance did you like?

Her French was flawless. Her name certainly doesn't sound French, but I would have bet she was a native speaker.

Appreciate the strong art connections

This is a good historical fiction novel that can get a bit long at times.

Way out of my comfort zone...

This book is so captivating with is rich descriptions of the paintings as well as the landscape around the narrator. This is definitely a book I would have not choose for myself but since joining a local book club I am listening to books that would otherwise be out of my league. This is a book full of passion and is a true love story. So worth the listen!

An Artist's View.

I haven't painted in a while. This story made me anxious to return.
I feel inspired by the descriptions of the works, the stories about some wonderful artists, my knowledge of each painting discussed. I could see the works as the narrator read.
I haven't cried in a while, certainly not while reading a book, however hearing Lisette's pain at the loss of her husband made me cry for the widows then and now, and helped me to form a new understanding of their loss.
The sweetness of Lisette is a little annoying but her plight reminded me of my own as I struggled to adapt to a loss of luxury and privilege ,learning to work at chores my mother never knew. I felt pride at my accomplishment just as Lisette did.
For me this was a wonderful book. Perhaps if one is not an artist, an art lover, or a lover of France, one would not be as enamored of it as was I.

Art, intrigue and charm

The reader is transported to Rousillion where village life becomes as beautiful and frustrating as modern art.