Dan Franck (1) (1952–)

This book probably drives art historians crazy. Franck makes no distinction between actual events and apocryphal stories, and there's no sense of the artists' accomplishments and place in history (it devotes about the same amount of attention to Soutine, Cocteau, and Foujita, for example). It's also a chronological mess - Apollinaire is alive, Apollinaire is dead, Apollinaire is alive again. And the writing is surprisingly uneven, with some moments of pretty serious confusion. That said, the show more stories are entertaining as hell and the gossip is juicy, so if you're interested in the period you're bound to enjoy yourself. show less

A lyrical, almost stream-of-consciousness story about divorce, and what it does to the narrator. No character is actually named, although some of his friends get letters, but they are all economically, yet throughly drawn.

Despite a lack of happy endings or well-behaved characters (two of my pet peeves) I loved this book. The translation I read has beautiful, carefully wrought language and I could empathize with the characters' emotions, if not actions. Highly recommended.

exhilarating; shows most of the virtues of good academic history without its vices

The beginnings of modern art in Paris