City of Lights: The Trials and Triumphs of Ilyse Charpentier
by Melika Lux
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Book Summary Information
Author: Melika LuxEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-08-01
ISBN: 0595687202
Number of pages: 146
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
Book Reviews of City of Lights: The Trials and Triumphs of Ilyse Charpentier
Book Review: A short but interesting novel
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a short novel (139 pages), but it is also an intriguing character study.
This is a novel depicting the arc of the life of Ilyse Charpentier, known as "La Petite Coquette de la Perle de Paris." She was, in short, a chanteuse in an establishment featuring theater, singing, and masses of people. To "make it," she had come under the not altogether happy sponsorship of Count Sergei Rakmonovich. Thus, she was not in full control of her life.
One evening, an Englishman, Ian McCarthy, happened to attend one of her performances. They fell in love at their first meeting, producing a threat to her livelihood (the Count would not be amused by his lady falling for another man).
This work is focused on how the events outlined above resolve themselves. Much is at stake here, including Ilyse's estrangement from her brother, how she escapes the clutches of the Count, the outcome of her passion for McCarthy.
The pleasure in this slender volume is how these various issues work themselves out. The novel ends with the thoughts of Ilyse who had always (Page 139) "believed in the magic of her 'City of Lights.'"
The characters might have been developed in a bit more detail (139 pages isn't a lot of space!); the verbal interactions among characters sometimes did not ring fully true. Nonetheless, this is an enchanting little work, and one wonders at what might follow, as there are hints of future works with these characters. Worth taking a look at!
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