Debut Historical Suspense Novel Wins IPPY Award for Best “Literary Fiction 2014” Stolen art, love, lust, deception, and revenge paint the pages of veteran journalist Lisa Barr’s debut novel, Fugitive Colors, an un-put-down-able page-turner. Booklist calls the WWII era novel, “Masterfully conceived and crafted, Barr’s dazzling debut novel has it all: passion and jealousy, intrigue and danger.” … jealousy, intrigue and danger.” Fugitive Colors asks the reader: How far would you go for your passion? Would you kill for it? Steal for it? Or go to any length to protect it?
Hitler’s War begins with the ruthless destruction of the avant-garde, but there is one young painter who refuses to let this happen. An accidental spy, Julian Klein, an idealistic American artist, leaves his religious upbringing for the artistic freedom of Paris in the early 1930s. Once he arrives in the “City of Light,” he meets a young German artist, Felix von Bredow, whose larger-than-life personality overshadows his inferior artistic ability, and the handsome and gifted artist Rene Levi, whose colossal talent will later serve to destroy him. The trio quickly becomes best friends, inseparable, until two women get in the way–the immensely talented artist Adrienne, Rene’s girlfriend with whom Julian secretly falls in love, and the stunning artist’s model Charlotte, a prostitute-cum-muse, who manages to bring great men to their knees.
Artistic and romantic jealousies abound, as the characters play out their passions against the backdrop of the Nazis’ rise to power. Felix returns to Berlin, where his father, a blue-blooded Nazi, is instrumental in creating the master plan to destroy Germany’s modern artists, and seeks his son’s help. Bolstered by vengeance, Felix will lure his friends to Germany, an ill-fated move, which will forever change their lives. Twists and turns, destruction and obsession, loss and hope will keep you up at night, as you journey from Chicago to Paris, Berlin to New York. With passionate strokes of captivating prose, Barr proves that while paintings have a canvas, passion has a face–that once exposed, the haunting images will linger . . . long after you have closed the book.
The Hollywood Film Festival awarded Fugitive Colors first prize for “Best Unpublished Manuscript” (Opus Magnum Discovery Award).
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Loved this book!
I gravitated to this book because I love stories about artists on the Left Bank in the early part of the century as well as I enjoy World War two stories. I was very disappointed in the character development and particularly in the dialogue. I could never tell which character was doing the talking based on the tone and vocabulary. I eventually abandoned it before finishing….something I RARELY do.
Well worth the read. Gives insight into the WWII mindset.
American Julian joins up with fellow artists Rene and Felix in Paris, and is swept into a pre-World War 2 saga as the Nazis try to eradicate (and profit from) modern art. Julian and Rene, who are Jewish, follow untalented Felix to his grand family home in Potsdam in a pilgrimage to work with a leading expressionist. Felix goes Nazi and plans to destroy Julian, Rene and their entire artistic movement. So Julian becomes a double agent, he and Rene fall into Nazi clutches and are sent to Dachau, but they escape and flee to Munich. There they crash a Nazi art show and try to recover Rene’s lost art, but are captured and tortured again, only to escape to Paris and a showdown with Felix which leaves Julian to plot his revenge for over 20 years. Along the way, love triangles are sorted out. Whew! Yes, the scope is epic, and I enjoyed the book as a page-turner read, because the writing is engaging and sometimes very immersive, particularly when the narrative and dialogue have Rene and Julian creating and appreciating modern art. That said, I would have preferred half the plot twists and more of the book’s sensitive reflections on the crimes the Nazis perpetrated on modern art.
Was this review helpful? I am an avid world war based fiction reader and author. You can read more of my takes at https://brodiecurtis.com/curtis-takes/.
Nazis and the “degenerative” art of the abstract expressionists of the 1930s & 40s. Great read
I love the tale woven between artistic characters of different backgrounds in the tragedy of WW2 and Hitler’s twisted attack on modern art. The loyalty, the attachment to ideals and art forms was beautifully crafted in the backdrop of fear and jealousy and ambition. A great read for a book club!
A disappointing read for me. I lost track of how many times the characters acknowledged that what they were doing was a bad decision but they were going to do it anyway. A recurring and ultimately aggravating theme.
Anyone who loves and values art will want to read this book. An alternate view of the Nazi damage and torture of artists and of their traditional and futuristic art movements!
Marguerite Quinn
This is a story about four young art student in Paris in the Mid 1930’s. Personal growth and competitive nature draws their passion for honing their craft. As Europe reacts to the changes in the political climate, two of the Jewish artist get swept in destruction of Modern Art while in Berlin and the fury of the Nazi culture taking over every part of life during that era. Wonderfully written, with great language and vocabulary. A welcome opportunity to read an interesting topic presented in an intelligent manner.
Light, pleasant, entertaining. Really sweet.
I loved this book. Once I started it, I couldn’t put it down. I thought the story was great – the characters were very well developed and it was a very interesting story.
One of my very favorites this year!!
And as an artist, I LEARNED a lot of wonderful art history…
Best book that I’ve read in a while..couldn’t put it down!
Yakov/Julian was a weak protagonist. It wasn’t very believeable that he would take off to Germany with friends that he barely knew.