Madeleine is trapped in an unhappy marriage with a controlling husband who refused to allow her to work or to engage in her passion of painting, and says mentally and emotionally cruel things to her. This is a pattern also engaged in by her mother who had societal expectations of her. In alternate chapters are the story of her grandmother who fled convention for a few months in 1924 in Paris where she met artists and writers and escaped the reality of a marriage and confining social engagements back home. Madeleine returns to her hometown to help her mother move the family home and meets a new crowd of people who help her to realize she does not have to stay in an unhappy relationship.
I really enjoyed this book although I sometimes became irritated with the main character and the fact that she (and her grandmother before her) allowed themselves to be so controlled by convention and societal expectations. Understanding for her grandmother in 1924, but not for Madeleine in 1999 when women have more choices. I was happy at the end of the book when she left all of that behind so that she could find happiness and forge a new path.
I really enjoyed this book although I sometimes became irritated with the main character and the fact that she (and her grandmother before her) allowed themselves to be so controlled by convention and societal expectations. Understanding for her grandmother in 1924, but not for Madeleine in 1999 when women have more choices. I was happy at the end of the book when she left all of that behind so that she could find happiness and forge a new path.
