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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty As a Picture, October 21, 2003
What do you do if you are a biographer who falls in love with a painting but can't find enough historical evidence to write the life story of the painting's subject? You make something up! That is precisely what Ms. Diliberto has done in this enjoyable, albeit romanticized, fictional adaptation of the life of Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau, the subject of John Singer Sargent's 1884 painting, Madame X. Ms. Diliberto saw Sargent's masterpiece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and knew immediately that she wanted to do a biography on the enigmatic woman depicted in the painting. Unfortunately, when she undertook the project, she could not find enough information on the subject. As a result, she took the information she had managed to collect and used Madame X as the subject of her first fictional work. The novel is similar to other recent works of historical fiction, such as The Girl with the Pearl Earring and The Other Boleyn Girl. The novel itself is a quick and enjoyable read. The main character is well-developed, though I cannot say the same for most of the supporting characters. It is hard to say whether or not their lack of depth is a failing on the author's part or a deliberate attempt to emphasize the superficial nature of the main character. Everyone's appearance is vividly described, as is the environment in which they live, so I would venture to say that the lack of insight into their intellect is deliberate. Virginie lives a life dictated by appearances. There are instances where the dissemination of the historical fact seems a bit heavy-handed. Those instances are probably a result of Ms. Diliberto's background as a biographer. I was impressed with her descriptive abilities and her flair for social melodrama. This novel felt similar to the works I have read by Jane Austin, particularly Emma. The colorful world that unfolds in I Am Madame X successfully captures a few of the romantic possibilities inspired by Sargent's portrait. On a side note, I also enjoyed the Author's Note given at the end, where she gives the reader insight into what was fact and what was fiction. She even points out factual elements that she altered a bit to improve her story. I thought giving that information was a nice touch.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A quick, entertaining read, April 20, 2003
This novel is about a woman whose portrait at the Metropolitan has fascinated me to such a degree that I considerate it my favorite portrait. Therefore, I was intrigued by the idea of a novel about this mysterious creature. The pseudo-autobiography is quite breezy- indeed, I finished the book in hours. I enjoyed the parts of Virginie's story prior to posing for Sargent, especially the scenes in Louisiana, which breathe with life and detail. The rest of the novel definitely falls flat and there is no conclusion, but rather an abrupt end. Still, if you are facinated by the topic, it is a worthy addition to the Madame X library.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Marvelous Fiction, August 16, 2004
This review is from: I Am Madame X: A Novel (Paperback)
Sometimes, one must wonder about the synchronicity of energy in the universe. First, STRAPLESS, a joint biography of artist John Singer Sargent and his most famous subject, Virginie Gautreau, is published. Virtually on the heels of STRAPLESS comes I AM MADAME X, a fictionalized biography of the same Virginie Gautreau.
To be sure, I AM MADAME X is the easier of these two books to read, and it tells a marvelous tale. Still, since it openly is fiction, it is difficult to discern where historic fact ends and author Gioia Diliberto's fertile imagination has taken over the purportedly first-person report. Though Diliberto's scholarship seems excellent, there is no doubt that she has fabricated backstories to explain some of the recognized events in Virginie's life.
There is her detailed explanation of Virginie's strange marriage, and a subplot about an American black woman who has moved to Paris and is trying to pass as white. How true any of these anecdotes may be are impossible for the reader to know.
Too, the author's conclusion as to the pleasure that Virginie and her family derived from Sargent's famous painting is in direct contradiction to the details offered in the non-fictional biography.
Nonetheless, I AM MADAME X provides one of the best "contemporaneous" accounts of the Paris Commune of 1870, and of the emergence of the Belle Epoque period.
Taken together, STRAPLESS and I AM MADAME X offer wonderful insight into the late 19th Century Parisian social set.
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