A beguiling painting holds the secrets of a woman’s past and calls into question everything she thought she knew about the man she loved… painting hanging over her bed at their country home as a testament to their love.
To Emma’s granddaughter, Laura, the portrait is also a symbol of so much to come. The masterpiece is serving as collateral to pay Laura’s tuition at a prestigious music school. Then the impossible happens when an appraiser claims the painting is a fraud. For Laura, the accusation jeopardizes her future. For Emma, it casts doubt on everything she believed about her relationship with Patrick. Laura is determined to prove that Patrick did indeed paint the portrait. Both her grandmother’s and Patrick’s legacies are worth fighting for.
As the stories of two women entwine, it’s time for Emma to summon up the past—even at the risk of revealing its unspoken secrets.
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THE THINGS WE DON’T SAY is an exquisite story that spans generations. And though there were many, my greatest takeaway is that just because we have the ability to put ourself inside a protective bubble—circle, if you will—doesn’t mean we can’t hurt others. The bubble—boundary—of a circle is EXclusive as opposed to INclusive. And where there’s exclusion, there’s always pain. Enjoyable read. I recommend this book.
What a wonderful novel! I recommend this for everyone who likes a smart historical novel.
Emma is born in Victorian England and is forced to endure the fact the women aren’t allowed to do anything but be wives. Her father dies and she is finally able to explore her idea of the perfect life. She develops a circle of friends who are artists and such. She falls in love with a gay man but is married to another man who is having an affair with a married woman. Patrick paints Emma and 40 years later it is stated that the painting was faked. Now Emma has to search her memories and people she used to know to find the truth behind the painting.
Set in the world of art and loosely based on the Bloomsbury group of artists, this is a magnificently penned story of undying love, family ties, rejection and hurt.
There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader glued to the pages: I loved it and cannot recommend it highly enough.
Emma Temple leads a controversial lifestyle that most would call degenerate and immoral. She was part of a artistic group that believed in having other sexual relationships. During the war the group proclaimed they were pacifists and would not wear a uniform or fight in a war that goes against there principles.
Emma has a relationship with Patrick who is also a homosexual. He is a famous artist and as time progresses his fame grows. The one particular painting of Emma that he does is probably the most important one of his collection. The authenticity comes into question after his death which causes issues not only for Emma, but for Laura the granddaughter as well.
The author starts out with a interesting storyline, but as it progresses it slows down for me. I felt that there wasn’t enough of a intrigue, but I am sure that others will like the artistic flair of the book.
I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.
The Things We Don’t Say by Ella Carey is another of her historical novels written in two arcs: then and now. It is entirely fiction but was inspired by the early 20th century Bloomsbury group of artists and writers. Emma Temple had been her father’s eldest daughter and so took over as his hostess, whether she wanted to or not. He was very traditional and the fact she was an artist meant absolutely nothing to him so long as she was home by 4 to serve tea. Then one day, he was dead and she was charged with taking care of her younger sister and brother. He had not left much money and a monstrosity of a house, which she promptly sold and began to live her own life. Her brother died, which nearly broke her. She married, although it was a mistake she knew and had a son, then pretty much stopped living with her husband who had gone back to his mistress. She painted and stayed up into the night discussing ideas. It was during this time she fell in love with Patrick. Patrick loved her in return but there was a problem: Patrick was a homosexual. They lived for years in this pseudo-friendship, until he died. In 1980 her granddaughter, Laura, discovers the painting of her, The Things We Don’t Say, had not been painted by Patrick and as a result, was not as valuable as they had assumed, which caused problems with the bank that had lent money on it, earmarked for Laura’s tuition: she was a violinist and geared to become the best, if she could stay in school.
This was a truly lovely story of love and loss and living the life you say you believe in. It is also about people who are there to take advantage of others, and hurt them when they can. Carey always writes a good story and this is no exception. She writes of relationships: where they go right and when they go wrong. She writes of goals and ambition and jealousy. Her characters are real and full of emotions, many just doing the best they can. It is also an amazing story of how one’s actions can affect people many years later, and even those we love, after we are gone. It is full of lessons to be learned and put into use. It is full of innuendo and undercurrent and should remind us all to be who we are: ourselves. I recommend it.
I was invited to read a free ARC of The Things We Don’t Say, by Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thethingswedontsay
This dual line historical fiction novel takes place in London in 1980 and France in 1913. The time lines are told by a grandmother and her granddaughter and mesh together perfectly to bring a fantastic story about the art world of the early part of the century.
1913 – Emma is an artist and a free thinker. She lives to paint and when she falls in love with Patrick, a fellow painter, she feels that her life is complete and they shared their lives together for over 50 years despite the fact that he was homosexual. He painted her portrait when they first met and she kept it hanging over her bed.
1980 – Emma is 90 years old when an art appraiser decides that the portrait that Patrick painted is a fraud and was painted by one of his students. This will not only make her question her relationship with Patrick – how could he have lied to her? but it also effects her granddaughter Laura and her studies at a prestigious music school. Her tuition was being paid by the collateral on the painting and if the painting is a fraud, then the painting is worthless and the bank will call in the loan. Laura needs to prove that the painting was done by Patrick and she works with the appraiser to try to find out the truth.
Emma must face the truth of her past to help Laura gain her future.
This is an excellent historical fiction novel with two time lines that intermingle to give the reader the answers to the mystery of the painting.
Love this author ‘s stuff although this isn’t my favorite.
A thoroughly enjoyable, poetic read that kept my interest throughout every chapter.
Ella Carey captured these characters in a way that felt real and true.
A multi-generational telling of friendship, love and family and is described and weaved into a tale of what those very things mean to us as individuals, as unconventional as they may be to others, but holding on to one’s beliefs and the ties that bind no matter society’s pressures.
It is an emotional journey that not only intrigues but is thought provoking as to how one object, they all have in common, will draw them together or break them apart.
This story evolves in ways that won’t disappoint.
A beautifully written, slow burning story about a grandmother and granddaughter and an important painting. That the novel was inspired by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, artists of the Bloomsbury group, made it even more delicious. I savored this as much as the books about Marthe de Florian and the painting found in her forgotten apartment.
Ella Carey‘s newest Historical Fiction involves a family and a group of artistic bohemians from the early 20th Century through the early 1980‘s. Enjoyed the author‘s excellent style of writing, the story flows well though the characters and years. Historical details as well as the art and musical aspects were interesting. Excellent mystery and suspense woven throughout kept me wondering exactly what had been done as well as who did it. ˋThe Things We Don’t Say´ has very unusual relationships described within this bohemian group and family including the expected outcomes. Thankfully the relationships and behaviors were described as happening but not in great detail. The usual nod to homosexual lifestyle acceptance is present as is in most books lately. The historical mystery details make this book an exceptional read. My thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Unique twists in the plot that spans over many years and 3 generations. I found it uninteresting and very slow-moving with some implausible and over-wrought plot details. I almost stopped reading it many times but made it to the end. I just didn’t care about the characters and their altruistic lives. The greater fleshing out of characters that I was looking for was just absent.