Violet & Claire by Francesca Lia Block Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $0.92 You Save: $6.07 (87%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Violet & Claire
Book Review: A unique premise that left me disappointed.
Summary: 3 Stars
Violet dreams of writing and directing films one day. Then, she meets Claire, a fantastical girl who wears a Tinker Bell t-shirt and tapes fairy wings to her back. Claire loves writing poetry. Together, Violet and Claire decide to make a film that will show the audience the magical world that they believe in can exist. However, when Violet finds fame through a shocking way with the help of a mentor and Claire begins a relationship with a poetry instructor, the girls are driven away from each other. Will the power of love be strong enough to bring Violet and Claire together again?
Because this was the first book I have read by Francesca Lia Block, I had no idea what to expect. I found myself enthralled in a story that takes place in an enchanted world of its own. As I later learned, Block is known for her use of magical realism, which she certainly excels at. I particularly liked the magical realism in Violet and Claire because it gave the novel a fitting movie-like feel. Block's ability to make the readers question certain events, without making them frustrated, was also good. Throughout the novel, I was not sure the exact details of things, but for once, I was not actually annoyed by this. In fact I kind of liked it. This will also make readers want to reread the novel.
Unfortunately, Violet and Claire had some flaws that can not be forgotten. Towards the end, the novel felt rushed. At only ~176 pages, this really hurt the novel. However, the ending was not just rushed, it was unsatisfying. I felt that Block had the potential to make the book a lot better than it was, but for whatever reason, the potential never came out. Of course, I could be wrong because I have never read her other novels, but seeing as she's been around for years, I'm sure she can do better.
Violet and Claire is a decent choice if you are looking an unique novel.
Book Review: A vivid account of two opposies
Summary: 5 Stars
A book in a category of its own. Fictional with a twist of fantasy. The story fixates on two girls winding through LA at the speed of light, creating a movie. Half told by Violet, Half told by Claire. The end told together tied in numerous knots ending the story abruptly leaving you wondering about how their lives go on.Book Review: Beautiful And Poetic
Summary: 4 Stars
Violet And Claire is a wonderfull book, full of poetry and beauty, but it isn't what I thought it would be. Although I was revitied, it isn't the best teen book I have ever read.Book Review: Beautiful...
Summary: 5 Stars
Ive read a few of FLB's books, and this one was *wonderful*! She has the most beautiful, poetic writting i have ever read. Its like reading one big poem of a story. It actually made me cry! So did "The Rose & the Beast", just because of it's beautiful writting. But in Violet & Claire I felt like i understood the characters. It's written wonderfully, and tells a wonderful story. I feel like Claire, a little broken faerie. She addresses every feeling so wonderfully, so truly. It really helped me open my mind and think about things I hadn't discovered about myself. Definately put me in the writting mood! This book is wonderful, it gives you a content feeling when you're done. I really suggest buying it!Book Review: Block Is A Teenage Fairy
Summary: 4 Stars
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?