Customer Reviews

Bluebird, or The Invention of Happiness

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderful book. I stayed up several nights reading this

historical novel. The author does a great job with the historical

details and the reader is transported to the times of Marie Antoinette.

The main character's courage and fortitude are inspiring and timeless.

I recommend this book highly to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Do not miss out on reading this book!!!!

When an author writes so seamlessly that you are no longer reading...you are there, it is rare and wonderful. Kohler is a terrific writer!

Bluebird and The Invention of Happiness is a beautifully written page turner set during the French Revolution. I could not put it down. The French Revolution, such an exciting period, is wonderfully rendered, and the historical details seamlessly interwoven into the narrative. Readers of historical fiction are bound to appreciate it especially, but you do not have to be a history buff to enjoy it. What I loved most was the heroine, Madame de La Tour de Pin, who was such a courageous woman, who overcame so many adversities. Not to read Bluebird is to deprive yourself of a wonderful treat. Anyone who has an appreciation for lyrical writing combined with a moving story will enjoy this novel. I highly recommend it.

Kohler always does the unexpected and her "Bluebird" is no exception. She has written (and exceptionally well) a particularly interesting rendition of the French Revolution and links that with the American Revolution in which the French who supported and fought for the rebellious Americans largely were aristocrats of one sort or another. Wonderful, succulent book. Does what good books should do: make you re-think what you think you know. Or, at least encourages readers to acknowledge complexity pretty much contaminates the purity of one side or another and more. That's a tough notion for some (such as I) to swallow. Kudos to Kohler.

The French Revolution was the first great popular revolution, and the ideas it enshrined, including the equality of women, have forever marked the world in the two centuries since. The late eighteenth century also saw the rise of the woman of intellect "la femme de tete", as the French would put it.

Sheila Kohler is a masterful writer and a lover of both France and history who does justice to both in this eye-opening book.

Samia Serageldin

Thoroughly engrossing historical novel. The Court of Louis XVI vs. the revolution comes to life in this page-turner. The contrast is even more startling when we arrive in the Albany area during the first throes of the American republic. I highly recommend this book for its beautiful language, vivid settings, and wonderful heroine vs. hero.

This was an excellent novel, and I did not want it to end. I, too, stayed up late at night, enthralled by the happenings in the life of Lucy Dillon. I love escaping in historical fiction, so this did not disappoint!

This is a beautifully written novel about Lucy Dillion, an 18th century Frenchwoman who survives the French Revolution, escapes to America with her husband and children, starts a dairy farm near Albany, and ultimately returns to France. The writing gives you the feeling that you are also living through these times, and it avoids the cliches of much of historical fiction. Obviously not everyone is going to be able to deal with this, but if you enjoy literature and are interested in the 18th century, this is an excellent read.

I've read many accounts of the people and events surrounding the French Revolution, but this book really touched me emotionally. The writing is superb and the characters believable. This is what historical fiction should be. I hope Ms. Kohler sticks with this genre!

A terrific, page-turning novel. Beautifully written and historically accurate. I recommend you buy immediately