The Portrait

Each one of his books is like unwrapping a very special gift. I love his perceptiveness and his ability to create such magical stories.

I really enjoyed, this, my third Laurain story. He is a superb storyteller. The pace and style seem of another time, in the best of ways.

I read Antoine Laurain's "Vintage 1954" and loved it. Thats why I decided to give this author another go and acquired his first novel "The Portrait". I have to say I was more than a little let down in doing so. You could say it just didn't grab me, and you'd be right, it didn't. Perhaps I was looking for another Dorian Gray and be assured, I never found one. I also think the book ended too soon or rather it could have introduced much more life into our protagonist "Pierre-Francois Chaumont" with a few more chapters. Not for me this one.

This is the 4th book we’ve read by the amazing author Antoine Laurain. Each book transports you to another world ! Beautiful descriptions, strong characters and of course the streets of Paris call you!! We’ve ordered two more of Lorain’s books and will be awaiting his latest this Fall.

So looked forward to this book After reading The Red Notebook. How disappointing. Not at all as engrossing or as believable. Thought as his first novel, he probably had yet to hit his mark.

Liked The Red Notebook and The President's Hat better than The Portrait. President's Hat was the best. All are quick reads... like extended short stories.

To reading this book. I loved the sweet story and likeable characters in The Red Notebook, but not so the characters in this one. I thought the main character was dishonest (maybe that was intentional; he is a lawyer) and I didn't like that he was able to change his life through deception. I also thought he threw in scenes that I couldn't see as relevant to the story, like his dreams (beheading, really?), Or the imagined "conspiracy" among his wife and their friends to deny he looked like the man in the portrait. I understand this was Laurain`s first novel. I'll try one more - French Rhapsody and hope I'm not as disappointed as I am in this one.

I’ll just write one review to go with all of the books I have read by this author. Unique and mysterious and fun.

Well, this was disappointing. I've read all the other Laurain novels, and I really enjoyed them. This one was kind of a mess, not to mention far-fetched. I expected more romance, but even that aspect was tedious and there was no chemistry. On the plus side, as this was the first thing Laurain wrote, it proves how much he's grown as writer since.

Nothing heavy, but pure Laurain: fun, witty and somewhat dark humour from a very French point of view!

Beautifully written, this is a real hidden gem of a novel. Slim at 128 pages it is a novel that you can finish in a weekend if not sooner but is as enriching and satisfying as a novel four times that length. The story is entertaining, thought provoking, clever and down right delightful. The characters are well conceived and well crafted and the writing is eloquent and stylish. I found the relationship between the narrator and his wife amusing and yet sad; it made me smile, enjoy the wry humour but also feel the weight of unhappiness between them. The narrator has captured the tension, resentment, complications and layers of grey within a marriage. All the characterisation shows sharp insight and shrewd observations. A little book but one deserving huge attention and acclaim. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am a real fan of this author's writing. I recommend

Despite being the fourth book published in the UK, it was actually the first written by Antoine Laurain. Having read and thouroughly enjoyed the first three books (The President's Hat, The Red Notebook and French Rhapsody) I was expecting another well written and well constructed story. I was a little disappointed though only with the ending. Despite it being obvious this was not the latest from a talented writer, it was still thoroughly imaginative and entertaining.

I have really enjoyed his other 3 books, but not this one so much. I found it a bit too confusing to follow and not such a good story. I think it may be his first book.