The Secret Life Of Violet Grant (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
Wow. I gobbled down this book in no time. It has so much that I love in a novel. It takes place in 1914 and 1964, in New York, Oxford, and Berlin and switches back and forth between times and places. It has a couple of love stories, a lot of interesting (if not very complex) characters. There's wit, charm, and a plot that's a lot like a road up a mountain with all it's U-turns and surprises around the corners.I like "meet cute" stories (I have a couple of my own) and the one between Vivian (our main character) and Dr Paul (her would-be lover) is as cute as they come. She gets a card from the post office to pick up a parcel. There are only 20 minutes before the post office closes so Vivian hustles from her ratty fifth floor apartment on Christopher St (the Village) to the post office and gets in line. Behind a very handsome guy in scrubs who has apparently fallen asleep standing up. Vivian attracts his attention by putting on a stand up comedy routine that is better than most you see on TV. This is a witty and incredibly charming girl. She does slip just under the wire and get her package but it's large and heavy and so the kind, if somewhat somnambuliant, guy in the scrubs (Dr Paul) offers to carry it home for her.She discovers in the package a suitcase that belonged to her great-aunt, Violet Grant. It has been sitting in a moldy warehouse in Zurich since 1914. She asks around her bizarre but close and loving family and discovers Aunt Violet was disowned when she shot and killed her husband in Berlin in 1914 and disappeared with her lover. How could a budding magazine writer resist such a story? Certainly Vivian can't and she takes off on a research project that she hopes will make her reputation as a writer. Will she succeed? Did Aunt Violet really murder her husband? Was there a lover and did she run off with him? Will Vivian find true love with her doctor despite discovering that he is . . . Well, to tell you more would be a spoiler. I gave the book five stars not because it's in a class with War and Peace but because as popular fiction goes it's as good as it gets. This book started strong, I loved the mystery aspect of the suitcase. I also enjoyed the meeting between Vivian and Dr. Paul. But shortly after the love triangle storyline got ridiculous and totally unbelievable. I ended up skimming the Vivian parts after awhile. The Violet parts kept me hooked until the end. Overall a fast paced read that I enjoyed, but it had potential to be so much better if the author had kept out some of the goofy plot lines.
What do You think about The Secret Life Of Violet Grant (2014)?
Lost interest in this book. Too many other good books to read.
—arik
