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Grady Harp is an Amazon Top 10 Reviewer

The Painter from Shanghail
by Jennifer Cody Epstein

Jennifer Cody Epstein steps into the pantheon of fine contemporary writers with her first book THE PAINTER FROM SHANGHAI, a work of ‘historical fiction’ so polished in research, so rich in detail not only of the turbulent period in China during the first half of the 20th century, but also in the mysterious social customs of that country, and a source of insight into the changes in the manner in which the visual world was captured by artists as East and West met and married in the art capital of the world - Paris.

Yet overriding all of this fascinating information is Epstein’s gift for delivering a story of passion and love with a poetic prose style that comes together in this novel in a manner not unlike creating the painting technique that this novel’s heroine describes her world. It is a grand feat and a work worth repeated readings.

Westerners may not be familiar with the name Pan Yuliang, one of the more important Chinese artists who influenced the Post-Impressionist art movement, but in Epstein’s eloquent novel we grow to know this gifted artist from her birth as Xiuqing in 1895, and her early years as an orphan protected by her opium-addicted uncle who sold her into a brothel at age fourteen.

Enough space is allotted in this tale to allow us to learn the traditions of the ‘flower houses’ and the brutalities and consequences of life as a prostitute, but Epstein is careful to balance the sad with the radiant in the relationship between the newly renamed Yuliang and her beautiful ‘teacher’ Jinling with whom she has her first love affair, and Yuliang’s subsequent rescue from the brothel through the kindness and concern showered upon her by a handsome gentleman Pan Zanhua - the man with whom she not only enters into the relationship of being his concubine, but also benefits from his support of her position as a woman and as an artist.

The story spans Pan Yuliang’s life from these early beginnings to her death in 1977, a life that brought her exposure to the West, with awards from the schools of art in China, Italy and France resulting in renown as a gifted artist who just happened to be a woman with a past, the many private and public pains she endured as her native country moved from the reign of the Emperors through the rise and fall of Chiang Kai-shek, the invasion by the Japanese, and the new order of Communism, and the influence of the world perception of art that included defeat of some of the finest artists as the battle of the sexes altered the perception of painting the nude figure as an acceptable subject matter in a climate of global turmoil.

Epstein manages to write as intricately about history and Chinese tradition as well as luminously about the act of creativity. Few writers can match the descriptive language of the emergence of the visual: ‘But true art must contain an emotional range that speaks to the viewer. Speaks…not by lulling them into a false sense of complacency, but by probing. Challenging. Even hurting, if need be. Anything to force us beyond life’s easier thoughts.’ ‘Has it ever occurred to you that our wounds are what drive us to create?…What if those who’ve lost something compensate for it in their work? In that case the damage helps them. It’s what compels them to create…And it might explain why the best artists tend to be the poorest.’

THE PAINTER FROM SHANGHAI begs to become a film. But until that happens, this elegant and passionate book is one to treasure repeatedly. It is a work of art.

Grady Harp is an Amazon Top 10 Reviewer

The title of this first novel by Aseem K. Giri, IMPOSTERS AT THE GATE: A NOVEL ABOUT PRIVATE EQUITY, can be daunting to readers who are not comfortable with the vocabulary and workings of high finance. Being one of those uninformed money market folks, this reader had a tough time getting into this novel.

Not that the style of writing is stilted or obscure - it actually flows well and the author has a great flair for written conversation and character painting - but the topic is like a foreign language, something that takes some work to follow. Continue reading »

Based on the astonishing true story of one of China’s most provocative modern painters, The Painter from Shanghai, by Jennifer Cody Epstein,  is a luminous re-imagining of the life of Pan Yuliang, a one-time orphan and prostitute who escaped sexual slavery to become one of the pioneering post-Impressionists of her time.

This debut novel (called “lush” and “sparkling” by Vogue, “luminous…an irresistible story” by the New York Times and “captivating” by Publishers Weekly) carries readers down the muddy waters of the Yangtze river and through the seedy backrooms of Wuhu brothels, into the raucous glamor of prewar Shanghai and the bohemian splendor of Paris in the Roaring Twenties.

In the process, the novel paints an unforgettable portrait of one of history’s unsung heroines–as well as of a vast and ancient nation caught at the crossroads of tradition and modernity, and teetering on the brink of both World and civil war.

The New York Times review stated “Most vivid is Epstein’s portrait of the lovely Jinling, “trailing scent like an elegant scarf, an exotic blend of gardenia and musk.” The establishment’s top girl, she eats seed pearls crushed with sugar to enhance her complexion.

Jinling befriends and protects Yuliang, bringing a bright insouciance to the brothel’s dark halls — until she is murdered, her throat slit by one of her clients. Her death reverberates throughout the novel. Indeed, Epstein suggests that Yuliang’s desire to repossess Jinling’s pale, beautiful, youthful flesh — and thereby her own — inspires the nude paintings that will later bring her such notoriety.”

About writing The Painter from Shanghai, Jennifer Cody Epstein writes “In early 1998, my husband and I were visiting a modern Chinese art exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum. I’d just spotted my first Pan Yuliang painting: lush and Cezanne-esque, it showed the artist in Paris, gravely wistful against the boldly-toned background.

I knew my husband, a filmmaker, would appreciate it, but I was utterly unprepared for his response.

“This,” he announced, “will be your first novel.”

Grady Harp is an Amazon Top 10 Reviewer

Harry Leonnoff is the Fixer of the title of this interesting first novel by motivational author Ed Brodow: he is patterned on the author’s grandfather and provides a character around whom we are invited to revisit the turn of the century New York landscape and sociopolitical shenanigans.

Brodow covers the era from 1883 to 1961, weaving fascinating stories about WW I, the plight of the Jews during WW II and in the USA, the rise of the Irish political giants of Tammany Hall, the colorful Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, the Depression, the plight of the poor and disenfranchised, and the plague of polio that blighted the life of the hero - and even possibly provided the first of the hurdles such as overcoming evil with good that ruled Harry Leonnoff’s life.

By separating his book into time framed chapters, Brodow gives us an excellent history course, told in the manner of a novel with extraordinarily interesting characters that are well drawn. Little known facts about the period are shared Continue reading »

Grady Harp is an Amazon Top 10 Reviewer

One of the major pleasures in reading ‘first works’ by unknown writers is the discovery of great writing in the nascent stage.

With White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception Sarah Collins Honenberger steps onto the stage with a securely written, well researched ‘mystery’, a novel based on fact that is played by actors so well defined that by the end of the book we feel as though we know each of them - the ‘heroes’ and the ‘villains’ - so well that from every angle of each the character motivation is fully detailed.

No mean feat this, especially when dealing with a subject matter that is by nature controversial. That Honenberger succeeds in making this fast paced intrigue a truly memorable novel places her in Continue reading »

Move over all you comedic writers, because a new force has entered the genre. Amber Kizer, a Washington state author, has blasted into the realms of excellence with her hilarious first novel, Gert Garibaldi’s Rants and Raves: One Butt Cheek at a Time.

Kizer’s book follows Gert Garibaldi (a hated name, given to her by her ancient parents) through a portion of her sophomore year in high school. Her experiences run the gamut (as do ALL sophomore girls) from the bliss of first love to the horror of getting your period at the same instant you have to stand in front of the class and give a presentation.

I found Gert’s interaction with her (slightly daft) parents dead-on; after all what do these oldsters know about the angst of teen life? Later, a visit to Victoria’s Secret changes part of that concept! I also loved the dynamics (and honesty) of Gert’s friendship with Adam, her gay best friend. Pals since forever, Gert and Adam share their fears and hopes about first dates and first kisses, while following the challenges to their friendship when a third party comes onto the scene.

From beginning to end, Kizer paints a picture a high school we can all imagine, including a sexy sex-ed teacher, a driver’s ed instructor who has to bring a portable oxygen tank along on the rides, and a princi-PAL! who wants to grade students on how much they weigh! I loved, too, Kizer’s side-splitting humor; if anyone can capture a teenage girl’s inner thoughts, this author can! There were several spots in the book that had me in stitches, including the title of Gert’s English paper that compares and contrasts Edgar Allan Poe and Ernest Hemingway: The Crackhead and the Suicidal Alkie.
Was high school ever like this? Absolutely!

Kudos to Amber Kizer’s first novel–and the first in a Gert Garibaldi series. Keep ‘em coming!

Read an in-depth interview with Amber Kizer.

In Elaine Lyons Bach’s debut novel, Gentle Journey , Eden Barret longs to help society’s downtrodden with her talent as an artist. When her initial plans fail, as a last resort, she finds work as a governess in the home of Colin Ashton, Seventh Earl of Edmund. There she hopes to continue to pursue painting in her spare time.

Her beliefs and her choice to rescue two climbing boys from their abusive master, yet refusal to give testimony against the sweep cause her to cross swords with her handsome employer more than once, putting her employment in jeopardy.

Her charge, Lady Diana, is an intelligent, though lonely preteen, confused about what she perceives as her power to cause things to happen – bad things. Though diametrically opposed in beliefs, against her better judgment, Eden is attracted to the intelligent and chivalrous Lord Edmund. Continue reading »

Grady Harp is an Amazon Top 10 Reviewer

Jeff Cook pounces onto the literary scene with a fascinating first novel, Woe to the Hunted, that is one of the more interesting concepts in storytelling to grace the bookshelves in some time.

Cook is a writer, a composer, an inventor, a painter, a mathematician fascinated with physics, and while that may sound like a man who is a bit unfocused, for this his first literary adventure Jeff Cook employs all of these interests in an informed and polished manner. Continue reading »