The Marriage of Opposites
Reviewed By Grasshopper2 September 8, 2015
Author Alice Hoffman
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ISBN: 9781451693591
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
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Website: http://www.simonandschuster.com.au
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The author has written a story that combines fact and fiction very skilfully. All the basic facts are correct and verifiable, but Alice has woven a magnificent saga and family history between known events.
The story begins in 1807 with recollections of childhood by Rachel Pomie. Her family were Jewish refugees who fled from Paris to the Danish owned island of St Thomas in the Caribbean, where they formed a small tight knit community.
The stories of her childhood are beautifully described by the author. We follow Rachel and her best friend Jestine as they explore and describe the feel and sights of the lush, tropical island. At night they sneak out and lie on the sandy beach as turtles trudge past them to lay their eggs. By day the girls explore the hills and describe the blood red flowers that grow there, as the tears shed by women, kidnapped by pirates.
As the girls grow up Rachel yearns to go to Paris and feel the cold air and cold rain. Her father’s business is failing and to help him out, Rachel is married off to a widower who can expand the business.
His wife has left behind three children, so Rachel at a young age becomes a mother to them. On the unexpected death of her husband, the family members in Paris send out a nephew of her husband to get the business sorted out, and a lifelong passionate affair begins between Rachel and Frederick.
The Jewish community on the island forbid the relationship and refuse to allow the couple to marry. Rachel was born a fighter and perseveres with this battle.
Her third child born from this union proved to be as unusual as Rachel and, from an early age displayed a remarkable talent for drawing, although he did see things differently. He was called Jacob Abraham Camille Pissaro, later to be known as Camille Pissaro, the famous impressionist artist.
The characters in this saga are so diverse, ranging from a slave who saved the life of Rachel’s father, to the wealthy Jewish matrons who ruled their families and community.
All judgement here is suspended as the reader begins to unravel the life stories , and reasons for behaviours. Several family stories weave their way through this tale, and political and social events add to the meaning and give a richer understanding.
This story reaches inside you, and once read will not be forgotten. It doesn’t follow Camille’s story as an artist, but a quote from an art critic of the time, Albert Wolf, confirms the uniqueness of the man. “Try to make M Pissaro see that the trees are not violet and that the sky is not the colour of fresh butter…..”