Fugitive Colors

July 15, 2013
Barr's take on early Nazi Germany provides a different perspective in this foray into the pre-World War II period. Julian moves to Paris after escaping a past that has repressed his artistic identity. It is 1932, and the promising young art student has won acceptance to a famed art school in the City of Light. On his first day, he meets three other young artists who help shape his destiny. Rene is the handsome son of one of the city's most important art gallery proprietors; Adrienne is Rene's beautiful girlfriend, stolen from Felix, the son of a wealthy German nobleman. Like Julian, all three are Jewish artists in a changing Europe during the early days of Hitler's ascension to power. The four become fast friends until a stunning model named Charlotte is introduced to the group. Both Rene and Felix fall for the vacuous artist's model, while Julian pines for Adrienne. When Felix's father forces his son to return to Germany to take his rightful place as his father's successor, Felix begs Rene and Julian to come with him. Julian, forewarned of the growing antagonism toward the Jews, doesn't want to go, but Rene convinces him and brings along Charlotte, with whom he is now having an affair. The three men and Charlotte become caught up in the rapid changes taking effect in Nazi Germany. Barr paints a vivid picture of the era and the effects Hitler's interest in art had on both artists and Europe in general, and she has an eye for recreating the ambience of Paris in that era. But some of her characters tend to wax a bit over-the-top, while Rene and Julian behave like they are cast members of a horror movie who, despite knowing their actions are self-destructive, keep tempting fate and make the reader want to shout, "What are you thinking?" Period melodrama that will appeal to those who enjoy art or are receptive to a new take on Nazi Germany.

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October 15, 2013
On the eve of WWII, three art students let their professional rivalries and romantic jealousies catapult them into the center of one of the most notorious campaigns of the Third Reich. Upon arriving in Paris, American expat Julian is immediately befriended by Rene and Felix, who encourage him to abandon his formal studies and join them in private lessons with an avant-garde artist. Fiercely competitive, Rene and Felix nonetheless set aside their artistic ambitions for their passionate pursuit of Charlotte, the salon's hedonistic nude model. When Felix discovers Rene and Charlotte's affair, his vow to seek revenge is conveniently satisfied when his Nazi-sympathizer father forces him to return to Germany, where Felix becomes involved in the fhrer's campaign to rid the world of so-called degenerate art. Thrust into the role of both confidant and spy, Julian dedicates his life to saving valuable works of art from Nazi destruction, with tragic results. Masterfully conceived and crafted, Barr's dazzling debut novel has it all: passion and jealousy, intrigue and danger.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)