The Picture Book

Rating:
Summary: Very Good But Needed More Development
Review: I enjoyed this book but by the time I finished it, I felt it was too pat and the conclusions reached too easily. Keating presents as the central character a young woman whose father abandoned her before she was even born, when her mother would not have her aborted. Patrizia is an artist in her 20s when her mother dies. She takes off for Italy to find and finally come to terms with her art dealer father, whose abandoning action keeps preventing her from getting too close with any man. It is a great premise and Keating does a beautiful job on the setup of her story, details about painting and selling art work and details about being in Italy. We feel as if we are there. The problem is that she has two key relationships develop. There is one young man who intrigues Patrizia as a love interest and, of course, her father, to whom she presents herself as a different person so she can study him without his knowing who she is. Keating could have kept it at its present length if she had chosen to write about only one of these men. When she included both of them, it needed a very experienced hand in plot and character development to resolve the problems with both men, especially with Patrizia fearing that her lover might be a model for Italian machismo, like her father was with her mother. Patrizia's problems are downright Freudian yet we race right through them. Keating did not have that deft a hand for resolving her characters' complex conflicts so the ending, albeit happy, sagged for me. This is one of those books where I would feel more comfortable giving it a 3.5 rating. However, I would not be comfortable giving it only a 3 as a lot of women will enjoy this book more than a "C" would imply they might.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good But Needed More Development
Review: I enjoyed this book but by the time I finished it, I felt it was too pat and the conclusions reached too easily. Keating presents as the central character a young woman whose father abandoned her before she was even born, when her mother would not have her aborted. Patrizia is an artist in her 20s when her mother dies. She takes off for Italy to find and finally come to terms with her art dealer father, whose abandoning action keeps preventing her from getting too close with any man. It is a great premise and Keating does a beautiful job on the setup of her story, details about painting and selling art work and details about being in Italy. We feel as if we are there. The problem is that she has two key relationships develop. There is one young man who intrigues Patrizia as a love interest and, of course, her father, to whom she presents herself as a different person so she can study him without his knowing who she is. Keating could have kept it at its present length if she had chosen to write about only one of these men. When she included both of them, it needed a very experienced hand in plot and character development to resolve the problems with both men, especially with Patrizia fearing that her lover might be a model for Italian machismo, like her father was with her mother. Patrizia's problems are downright Freudian yet we race right through them. Keating did not have that deft a hand for resolving her characters' complex conflicts so the ending, albeit happy, sagged for me. This is one of those books where I would feel more comfortable giving it a 3.5 rating. However, I would not be comfortable giving it only a 3 as a lot of women will enjoy this book more than a "C" would imply they might.

Rating:
Summary: 5 hanky read
Review: The call from her godmother came to her place of work, the Holly Ardath Art Gallery in Manhattan's SoHo section. The message simply stated that Patrizia Orman needed to return home because her beloved mother was injured in a car accident. She immediately flies home to Argyle, Wisconsin to be with her mother, but arrives too late.

Her godmother presents Patrizia with letters written by her father, a person she never met or knew. Seeking a sense of belonging after her loss, Patrizia flies to Rome to meet the individual who sired her, Masimilliano Caracci, an Italian art dealer. She hides her identity, but manages to work her way into his art world. As Patrizia gets to know and care for her father, she falls in love with Andrea Pisanelli. However, as with her parents, it seems as if history will repeat itself with Andrea forsaking her love.

THE PICTURE BOOK is a fascinating relationship drama that centers on the impact choices have on future generations. The story line is romantic, melancholy, and uplifting. Readers will root for the lead couple to make it even as they hold out little hope for it to occur. Susannah Keating shows a veteran's ability to make her audience care for her entire cast of characters and if this tale is any indication she has a long storytelling career ahead of her.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story for a quiet weekend read.
Review: This book had a wonderful storyline which leads a young woman on a journey to find the father that abandoned her before she was born. Patrizia is a young girl in her 20's whose mother has just died, and who has never known her father. After her mother's death, Patrizia's godmother tells her the truth -- that her father abandoned her mother when she refused to get an abortion, thus sending Patrizia on a mission to Italy to track down her real father. Patrizia manages to track down her father, but doesn't tell him right away who she is. The storyline opens up and allows Patrizia to do what she really loves to do -- paint. Coming to terms with her father also allows Patrizia to get on with her life, including a man she met and fell in love with while in Italy.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story for a quiet weekend read.
Review: This book had a wonderful storyline which leads a young woman on a journey to find the father that abandoned her before she was born. Patrizia is a young girl in her 20's whose mother has just died, and who has never known her father. After her mother's death, Patrizia's godmother tells her the truth -- that her father abandoned her mother when she refused to get an abortion, thus sending Patrizia on a mission to Italy to track down her real father. Patrizia manages to track down her father, but doesn't tell him right away who she is. The storyline opens up and allows Patrizia to do what she really loves to do -- paint. Coming to terms with her father also allows Patrizia to get on with her life, including a man she met and fell in love with while in Italy.