Customer Reviews

Violet & Claire

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I read this book when I was sort of in a slump of mediocre reading. I really wanted something that would hold my attention and pique my senses. VIOLET&CLAIRE did just that. It is the story of two girls who seem very different yet have a similar essence, a quality which ties their fates together. Violet is dark and moody, ambitious and practical; Claire is light-hearted and delicate, innocent and dreamy. Violet dreams of escaping from the mundane life of a seventeen year-old which is her present lot, through making a movie. Claire has images of a secret race of faeries, who are gentle and kind and light as air. She writes poetry. Attracted to Claire's poetic visions and sympathetic to her ostracism from her peers, Violet asks Claire to star in her movie.

Things take a drastic turn, shifting dream to reality, when Violet and Claire attend a rock concert and get to go backstage and meet the band's sexy lead singer. Impressed by Violet, the two of them have a fling, and then he gives her his agent's number. Violet soon has a job working for the agent. She finds herself having less and less time for Claire, who pleads with her to come back to her so they can write poetry together. When a sadistic and sudden tragedy occurs, Violet finds that everything she has hoped for is falling into her hands. Yet if this is so, why is she so miserable. Claire, too, is falling apart, and has a fling with an older teacher at a poetry workshop. Ultimately, it is only through vice and destruction, while maintaining a genuine connection and a desire to save one another, that Claire and Violet can find their way back to one another and have ultimate peace.

This book starts out in a screenplay format with Violet giving a director's description of how a scene will open. From there, half of it is narrated in Violet's voice, the second half in Claire's. As always, Block proves herself to be glittering and mysterious in her prose. Yet this novel seems to have more plot than some of her others, such as THE HANGED MAN did. Parts are a bit confusing: you will find yourself wondering what really did happen the night Violet went alone to her agent's office to work late. There is a twisting, circular sort of scene where you are wondering did or didn't Claire's poetry instructor have a fling with Violet? The party scenes are dangerous yet great. As always, Block opens herself to the lifestyles of others.

VIOLET&CLAIRE is a must-read about friendship, pain, and the true meaning of success. And if you are a Block fan, my only question is why you haven't read this already?

Violet & Claire became my all-time favorite book before I was even finished reading it. It's easy to connect with, which I did, on a very deep level. It was like this book was the story of my life, and the absolute description of me--I'm just like Claire, with a Violety edge. I also happen to be a very huge Toriphile (a follower of Tori Amos) and I was so excited when I saw the excerpts from the song Bells for Her!

The first part of the book is narrated by Violet. She talks about her passion for screenwriting, and about her life. She's dark, cynical, sarcastic, and different from other people, therefore rejected by all her peers. Then she meets Claire. The second part of the book is narrated by Claire, who is sparkly, poetic, pure, innocent, and honest. She not only believes in faeries, she believes she is a faerie. The third part of the book is narrated in the third person, both Violet and Claire. This book is the story of how their friendship was strong enough to overcome anything.

The two girls are almost metaphorical, the two sides of every girl. Every girl has an innocent side and a dark side. Violet is the dark, and Claire is the light.

Violet & Claire is classified as Young Adult, and I was a little put off by that at first, but I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't belong there. There was some sex in it, along with bad language, and a few drug issues. In my opinion, that only serves to make the book more realistic, but if you're thinking of getting this book for a younger kid, definitely think twice-- it really should go in the adult section.

In short, I would recommend this book to the teenage girl or woman who is not weak at heart.

I loved her previous books, although I thought with "I was a Teenage Fairy" she was moving onto thin ice. Alas, with "Violet & Clare" I think the ice is cracking beneath her feet. I was barely able to finish the book, despite its shortness. The plot was boiled, the characters leaden and while Violet and Clare certainly represented the banality of the angst ridden teenager, I don't think that is exactly what Miss Block had in mind. I was so disappointed that I considered returning the book half-read, first time I've ever contemplated such. : < I managed to muster on to the end, but most of the plot has already flown from my mind. All that remains is a sense of disappointment and the feeling that perhaps she needs to write, for once, about girls who are not thin. Also, it might have have just been me, but the Lolita-like cover photo didn't do much for me either.

I couldn't help but be drawn into this book. It's about two teenage girls with personalities at completely opposite extremes - Violet, a cynical rebellious Goth who has raised herself on TV and cinema, and Claire, a lonely freespirited but fragile poet who believes she may be descended from an ancient race of faeries - and how they meet and become best friends. This friendship brings them both inspiration, adventure, and a lot of pain, but in the end they are both somewhat happier and stronger than they had been in the beginning. The way the book is written is very appealing and original. It starts out script style, the way Violet might start one of her screen plays, and is divided into three parts - Violet's narrative, Claire's narrative, and, at the conclusion of the story, a chapter combining their viewpoints. The writing style is vibrant and beautiful, and plays up both girls' personalities. It isn't a total fairytale. There's a good dose of reality in here - Violet's ambition for writing leads her right into the world of celebrities, where getting hurt can be as easy as making the wrong decision, or the wrong friends, and Claire's hunger for love, and love for both her new poet boyfriend and her new friend Violet, leads her to a lot of heartache - but the overall appeal of the book isn't lost, and in the end everything turns out alright. It's hard to stick this book in a category, but if you're a fan of Francesca Lia Block, or if you just like well written, touching stories, this is well worth checking out.

overall, i liked it. but i was semi-disappointed. it started out good enough (even though violet wasn't the greatest of people) but then came the ending. it felt rushed to me, like she got bored with writing it and decided to sum it up in as fast as possible. i recommend you buy this ONLY if you are a fan of hers. if you are just starting to read her stuff, don't start with this book. i suggest you start with 'weetzie bat' or 'the hanged man'.

I picked up a copy of Violet & Claire at Barnes & Noble and as I was reading the back of the book, I thought, "Hmmm, this book sounds like it might be cool." It was my first Francesca Lia Block book and as I read it, I couldn't help but love her writing style. Everything is in so much detail and it makes the whole book seem a little like poetry. However, as much as I liked her writing, the book left me a little disappointed by the end.

I started reading the book, and really began to like it; about Violet and her movies, and then meeting Claire with her tinkerbell shirt and wings. Everything throughout the book describing Violet & Claire and their friendship was great, but I think all the other crazy things going on in between it were a little too confusing for me to follow sometimes.

Don't get me wrong, if you are a FLB fan, definatley read this. You will probably like it. But, don't buy it if you haven't tried any of Block's other books. I am thinking of getting the Dangerous Angels books b/c I hear that is her best work. I won't let my opinion of this book affect my opinion of FLB though, because she is a really good writer, and everyone should read something by her.

I read this book in 9Th grade, recommended to me by my older sister. I completely connected with the character of Claire as well as violet. Violet, so unsure of who she is, trying to control the one thing she can in her life, Directing. Claire, quiet, innocent and naive, wearing Fairy wings at school just because she wanted to. I did that at my school after I read the book, not for attention but because I had always wanted to, and reading what Claire did gave me the courage to try it too, to be me even though I was different. That is what this book is all about, finding who you are and who you want to be, what you want to do with yourself and your life and not yielding to others orders.I highly recommend reading this book if you're young and need to know you're not the only one growing uncomfortably in society today.

"Violet and Claire" is a book about two young girls, two completely opposite girls, who find each other in high school to make a perfect pair. They protect each other from the dangers of school, show business, men, drugs, and LA.

I liked "Violet and Claire" a lot because of how much I related to both of the main characters. This, as all other books by Francesca Lia Block are, isn't a book you just sit back and read for the fun of it. It is something people can relate to, especially teenage girls like me. This is a book to learn from, if one lets themselves. I learned a little about myself.

Violet is a dark, rich, somewhat jaded, depressed but tough up-and-coming screenplay writer, and Claire is a quiet, poetry-writing, insecure, home-wrecked, strange girl who believes she is a descendent of a lost race of faeries. In the book it was saying how if you put the two girls together, they make "the perfect image of a girl". This is somewhat true. Together they make an average (not perfect) girl struggling to survive in a world of love, hate, insecurity, murder, drugs, cruelty, jealousy, friendship, and violence. A world where everything goes so fast, that it's too hard to live without someone there to help.

I recommend this book to any and every girl from the ages of 14 to 20. Reading this book gave me a sense of security that even though all teenage girls don't get along with each other, there are characteristics and such that give us a little unity in our lives. It gave me the knowledge that even when I'm feeling alone or misunderstood, there's someone else out there who feels just the same right at that moment. No one is ever alone.

This is a beautiful young adult book... i am not a young adult (i am 21 and a college grad.), but this book was a very sweet read. It tells the story of two girls - both who are outcasts in their own way - and how they meet and help each other tackle life. I read it in 2 days, and it was entirely entertaining, andi highly reccomend it. I expected a lesbian undertone... and was a bit disappointed that there is only heterosexual/platonic loving... but it is sweet just the same. Besides, the hardcover edition is pocketsize and the cover art is beautiful - very cute. ENJOY this delightful, magical, frivolous book.

This is a great book. Francesca Lia Block's writing style feels fresh, although her way of narrating is slightly confusing at times. The themes and events in the story are, mostly, nothing new to the female young adult category; it's its original, out-of-the-ordinary characters and Block's style that make Violet and Claire a compelling read. I only wish I had discovered Block's books sooner.