The Weeping Woman: A Novel

Disorganized tale of several sad people. Artsy, creative and perhaps eccentric folks, in theory, but surprisingly boring as presented here. It all just comes across as messed up and pathetic, while astonishingly lacking in personality. I read my disciplined 100 pages and then said, “enough.” Saw no reason to read more.

I am an avid reader and particularly like historical novels, especially on a subject in which I am interested. Try as I might, I could not grow to like this book. I could not even finish it, when I realized I was just skimming to “get by” the tutorials. Valdes has a vague, meandering style which just does not lend itself well to a linear mind. I wanted to read about Dora in somewhat the order in which she lived her life. The writer’s device of positioning herself as a main character was a distraction.....I rarely could keep track whether the story was about Dora or her. In short, the book was a disappointment. It has only caused me to search for an alternative on the life of Dora Maar.

Goods

A decent into madness. Not for the faint hearted. But in the end, I loved these characters (except of course Picasso!) so much that I cried (weeped!). In a public cafe. Maybe the madness is contagious?

The writer, Zoe Valdes is also the narrator of this beautiful story of love, art, the loss of love and despair in Paris then and now. .Zoe introduces us to Dora Mara(writer and artist) and the artist, Pablo Picasso.. Zoe has moved to Paris. As a journalist and writer, she is seeking material to write about Dora. The book actually takes place at 2 separate periods, the 1930's and today. It moves back and forth in time. There are 2 men who participate in the lives of Dora and Picasso, They are all expatriates living in Paris in the 30's. The 2 men and Dora visit Venice in the '30s. In more current times, Picasso has died. Dora and the 2 male friends have all aged and still live in Paris. Zoe finally finds Dora shortly before her sudden death,. They never actually speak. In order for Zoe to complete the story, the 2 men join her to recreate their visit to Venice with Dora.

I've always been fascinated by Picasso and this book gives a totally different perspective than any other I've read. The juxtaposition of present day and historical events was masterful and I enjoyed learning about Dora Maar.

Although I love to read books regarding artists, their art and their lives, I had a very hard time following the storyline and just whose life was being depicted. There were days when I did not read but I made myself persevere to get through it

A charming, literary novel. The references to the epoch and to art history are something to behold. Ms. Valdes is such a gifted, interesting author, majestic comes to mind...