The Painted Girls

What a fasinating story and one that will stay with you. I've always thought of Renior as the painter of ballet. I never thought where these girls came from or what they had to go through to become good or great. This story revolves around a family whose soul support is the ballet. A must read...maybe twice.

I really enjoyed this book. Although it was a novel, it told of like of the poor young women in Paris at the time. Also, there were references to the Impressionist Painter, Edgar Degas, that intrigued me to do a presentation of his life and his works.

This is the story behind the statuette of Degas' "15 yr old ballerina'. based on research of his diaries containing the names of the girls he sculpted and painted. I am a huge fan of all of Degas' work and so immensely enjoyed this back story of one of my favorite iconic pieces of art.

This book is well written. The title is a little bit misleading until you read the description of the book. I enjoy reading about dancers and history. The story is fiction and the characters are based somewhat on real people. After I finished the book, I had to go look up the history of the dancers. I have recommended this book to several people. I love to read but don't usually recommend books.
This is a great read.

The story of three sisters trying to make their way in 1878 Paris by becoming ballet students at the Paris Opera. Marie is immortalized by Edgar Degas as the model for Dancer Aged Fourteen,his famous bronze.Their lives are very hard and the situations they encounter are horrific. It made for a compelling story.

The sisters' personalities are rich, & consistent through the novel. The author's attn to detail Allows the setting & characters to feel real. The ending is satisfying -i wasn't left to guess and wonder, or worse, wish I had t read the book because the author rushes to tie things up too neatly.

Very interesting! This book gave the reader a fantastic look into the lives of dancers in 1878. I love this time period and the book opened up many details of a subject I knew very little about. I enjoyed it very much.

I enjoyed this book very much, the characters were fascinating in their hopefulness under such hopeless conditions. The story was rich with history and well told. I would recommend this book and another called "Dancing for Degas" which is similar in time frame and subject matter.

I have read several noted, but mediocre, books is a row and really wanted something different.

I had a really hard time putting this one down to go to bed/work.

Granted, I am the tiniest bit francophile - but the story of these girls in this time period and milieu was gripping!

I highly recommend this book for someone looking for something outside the mainstream!

If you've forgotten (or maybe were never aware of) just how much progress women have made in the last 2 centuries, this is a beautiful, sometimes pitiful, look into the realities of being female in the otherwise 'glamorous' Paris of centuries past. A lovely, eye opening read.

This is an interesting look into the world of the ballet as it really was. Along with Degas' revolutionary "reality" art, two girls struggle to exist in the real world. As their circumstances change, so do their perspectives.

Really enjoyed this one we read for our book club this month. It was an easy read but still had enough emotion and twists to keep me engaged from beginning to end. I also enjoyed the historical setting and getting a little glimpse into what may have been the artist, Degas, world.

Very well written period novel....historically accurate. Recommendto young women from 13 and on up to 99. Loved this book. Raw and very descriptive. Women have been through so much hardship throughout history. Very educational and real!

I really liked Buchanan's first book, The Day the Falls Stood Still. This book was also good in similar ways. It was a fairly well researched topic with an interesting story woven into the time and characters of the day. There was a small portion that dragged a little 2/3 of the way in, but it didn't last. I really enjoyed this book.

Very informative. Paints a good picture of the life of the poor in Paris during La Belle Epoque. I loved the contrast of the hard working sister versus the one who liked to cut corners. Haven't quite finished it yet, but at 65% I am enthralled. So far, very good!

My daughter read this as a summer reading book and loved it. Its a bit sophisticated in its descriptions of ballet ( daughter is a ballet dancer) and Paris (we were visiting while she was reading the story) but she was happy to read a very well written story that she could completely relate to. You don't have to be a dancer or visit Paris to enjoy. The author easily brings you into both worlds.

I felt the pain and compulsion of the characters. It applies to our present times and makes me want to do all that I can to make the situation of the impoverished better. Hurray for the good sisters who still work in this bleak field. M.B.

Having been to Monte Marche, I really enjoyed being immersed in an earlier era. I also like novels about famous figures, artists, etc. I am not sure how accurate it is (since I have nothing to base that statement on). But I like the characters and the theme of the book.

This book reminded me of The Bolin Sisters and Les Miserables. Intriguing, description of the plight and struggle to stay in the court or in the case of the Painted Sisters the opera/ballet with a benefactor, the thinnest thread to survival for a female.

While I felt that the novel started off slowly, I loved it as I got into it. It was a heartwarming story of personal redemption and family love. I would definitely recommend it, especially for anyone who is interested in Edgar Degas or in Paris in general.

Still trying to figure out the point of this story. I finished it trying to see if the author could weave the threads of the story into something worth reading, did not happen. Not a good story about dancers or romance, just not worth your time.

Painted Girls brought me to late 19th century Paris. It placed me in the grittiness of that time for those who did not have very much. I also loved that it was based on a true story. For anyone who enjoys historical fiction this was a wonderful read.

Ordered this for a book club review. Well written historical fiction that gives a clear picture of the life of an "opera rat" in Paris in the late 1880's. Kudos to the author for her explanation at the end of the book as to how she pulled together historical facts to write a plausible story. Interesting book..

Very well written. Great characters and dramatization. The language in the book is liberally sprinkled with the vernacular of the era--ballet terms, poverty, Paris in the 1870s. The story is of three sisters, teenagers facing adult decisions, each taking their own path, making do in impossible conditions. They are shown against the life of their failed mother who exists in the background. The girls are young and struggling to stay afloat and the reader is aware that they could start sliding and end up with her life

I truly enjoyed this book, finding it very different then the usual story or mystery. I give it a 4 out of 5 as I found some of the names difficult and the ballet terms a little difficult to deal with. But the picture painted by the author is vivid and the characters are interesting. I think it would make an excellent book club book with lots to discuss and probably many different views. I highly recommend it .

I thought that the downward spiral of the main character Marie was very contrived and I really didn't like reading a purposeful train wreck. It might have been accurate, and certain aspects of the writing and history were quite engaging, but it wasn't my favorite story this summer.

I thought this was a very well done - touching on family, class struggles, and the at times gritty the realities of the art world. Thoughtful character development and a well done plot line. I was not taken with the book at first but am so glad I didnt put it down. The final third is well worth the wait. I have recommended this book to several people.

This novel revealed the precaraious liives of three very poor but ambitious sisters, who had to use their wits to both survive and to find a more secure adulthood. Each sister used different sstrategies while helping one another. I loved the ballet sections and the sub-plot about Degas and his little statue, which I have seen. This novel vivdly revealed a look at the Paris tourists seldom see. Well written!

Although the language is simple, the story is fascinating. I learned a lot about the facts of life behind the glamor of Paris Opera House in that period of history. How girls as young as ten are exploited by those who pocket the profit of their talent and labors.

This book did not hold my interest for several chapters I stuck with it because I like to try and complete books I start. I am sure glad I did. I began to understand the characters and felt their trials and pain. I then could hardly put it down.

Ms. Buchanan has done an excellent job of staying true to the atmosphere and culture of the era of this story while writing an utterly engaging fictionalized account of several historical characters. I did not want to put the book down.

lies an incredibly twisted world. I truly enjoyed this book and what it did for the opening of my eyes. Also really liked the contemporary artists of the time and related events being brought into this period piece. I would recommend it.

I thought the "belle epoch" setting of the book gave the reader a wonderful insight into the characters and showed how difficult
it was for the less fortunate children to make something of themselves without being taken advantage of by the "upper class"
men of the time.

I always like to read historical fiction because I learn something I didn't know before. Such was the case with this novel. It was a little sad as well as informative, but now when I look at paintings of ballerinas I will look with a more informed eye.

Although the book does refer to Degas and does illustrate the deplorable conditions of Paris at the time he was painting the "ballet girls", I was hoping for more of the ballet world and the actual life of a ballerina then.

This book is partially based on fact about sisters in Paris in late 1800's and events beyond their control and how they deal. Also two young boys and the decisions they make and how they impact their life. Wonderfully written.

When I read the initial review, I thought there would be more about the artist, but was really about the lives the model and her sisters. I finished the book, but would not read if given a choice for something with more depth or more information about Dega.

This beautifully written novel looks at the complexity of poverty and its impact on three sisters in the era of Degas. The characters are fully developed, motivations exposed, and lovable even in their lowest moments.

I love historical fiction, mostly books about WWII era. This book is not what I usually read in the historical fiction genre. I thought it was very interesting. I did not know the true stories of Edgar degas dancers. While reading the book I would simultaneously look up degas paintings. I enjoyed this book.

While the book began with a slightly slow start, it quickly accelerated and had my attention captured. The author makes you care about each of her characters in a way that you cannot wait to turn the page. It's a great book club read with lots of twists and turns to make for a good discussion.

This was a very readable account of Degas' time as a painter, and I loved how the author brought fact and fiction together. A great read, and I looked forward to savouring my time immersed in the book.