The Golden Manuscripts by Evy Journey
I'm thrilled to continue with the Beyond Two Worlds book series tour with the newest book, The Golden Manuscripts. It was published in April 2023. Today along with my review I have an interview with Evy Journey! I hope you enjoy and don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post.
Clarissa, an Asian/Caucasian young woman has lived in seven different countries and has no lasting connection to any place. She thinks it’s time to settle somewhere she could eventually call home. But where?
She decides to live in the city of her birth. There, she joins a quest for the provenance of stolen illuminated manuscripts—a medieval art form that languished with the fifteenth-century invention of the printing press—hoping it would give her the sense of belonging she craves. But will it be enough?
For her, these ancient manuscripts elicit cherished memories of children’s picture books her mother read to her, nourishing a passion for art.
The trail of the manuscripts leads to an American soldier who served in World War II. Clarissa is anxious to know what motivated him to steal and keep the artwork for fifty years. But instead of easy answers, she finds bigger questions.
Immersed in art, but naïve about life, she’s disheartened and disillusioned by the machinations the quest reveals of an esoteric, sometimes unscrupulous art world. What compels individuals to steal artworks, and conquerors to plunder them from the vanquished? Why do collectors buy artworks for hundreds of millions of dollars? Who decides the value of an art piece and how?
The Golden Manuscripts: A Novel is inspired by the actual theft of medieval manuscript illuminations during the second world war.
What makes your book
different from other fiction on art, artists, and art heists?
Few novels focus on illuminated manuscripts, especially one
based on the actual theft of two medieval manuscripts. This novel goes deeper
into motives other than financial gain for art thievery. It gives a glimpse
into the underbelly of an esoteric art world, and of medieval manuscripts as
precursors to today’s picture books.
What is something you
had to cut from your book that you wish you could have kept?
A whole chapter before the Epilogue (Spring 2010)—the only
one devoted to the male character’s POV—discloses his feelings for Clarissa,
and what happens after she kisses him. More intimate and a bit sexy, it’s part
emotional hook/part deeper characterization, but I decided it would distract
from the story’s main themes and is out of sync with the story presentation.
And why not leave something for the reader’s imagination? So, I excised it
before I sent my draft to the editor.
How did you do
research for your book?
I surveyed my email list to learn what and how many readers
know or have read about illuminated manuscripts. And like the main character, I
wrote a paper on illuminated manuscripts decades ago. But recent research
usually uncovers previously unknown facts, and the scope of this book goes
beyond manuscripts, so I read more articles and books. I watched a few
documentaries and the film The Monuments Men.
What were the biggest
rewards and challenges with writing your book?
Art has always fascinated me and my research for this book
taught me a lot; entertained me, too. Both are big plusses. The challenge was
taking care not to get mired in facts that would bore readers and disrupt the
flow of the narrative. I also wanted believable, relatable characters with
issues of their own other than the search for who stole the manuscripts.
What is something you
had to cut from your book that you wish you could have kept?
A whole chapter before the Epilogue (Spring 2010)—the only
one devoted to the male character’s POV—discloses his feelings for Clarissa,
and what happens after she kisses him. More intimate and a bit sexy, it’s part
emotional hook/part deeper characterization, but I decided it would distract
from the story’s main themes and is out of sync with the story presentation.
And why not leave something for the reader’s imagination? So, I excised it
before I sent my draft to the editor.
What is your next
project?
I’m sorely tempted to try my hand again in historical
fiction, possibly my own reimagining of the relationship between Edouard Manet
(“father” of modern art, painter of Olympia and Le Dejeuner Sur L’herbe) and
Berthe Morisot, one of very few female Impressionist painters. Were they more than friends, or was he just a
mentor/painter to her student/muse? She eventually married his brother.
Tell us something
about you. Your book is set mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area, but also
includes scenes in Paris. Have you ever been to these places?
I’ve lived in different cities in California including the
SF Bay Area and stayed for two to six months in Paris across several years. I
presume to know specific places in these cities fairly well.
Hobbies?
When I’m not writing, I do art—from portraits to still life
in different media, though lately, I’m hooked on digital “painting.” I never dared to do a photorealistic style
until I tried a few digital painting apps.
What TV series are
you currently binge watching?
Lupin, on Netflix, about a charismatic thief. This French
series is a take-off on an early 1900s set of novels featuring Arsène Lupin, a
gentleman thief, written by Maurice LeBlanc. I’m waiting for the third season.
Evy Journey writes. Stories. Blogs (three sites). Cross-genre novels. She’s also a wannabe artist, and a flâneuse (an ambler).
Evy studied psychology (M.A., University of Hawaii; Ph.D. University of Illinois) initially to help her understand herself and Dostoevsky. Now, she spins tales about multicultural characters dealing with problems and issues of contemporary life. She believes in love and its many faces.
Just as she has crossed genres in writing fiction, she has also crossed cultures, having lived and traveled in various cities in different countries. Find her thoughts on travel, art, and food at Artsy Rambler.
She has one ungranted wish: To live in Paris where art is everywhere and people have honed aimless roaming to an art form. She visits and stays a few months when she can.
connect with the author: website ~ blog ~ facebook ~ pinterest ~ bookbub ~ goodreads
This sounds like a great book
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really interesting book!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a book that I would really like.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really good.
ReplyDelete