Friday Reads: Floral Fiction
Have we got a magnificent bouquet of books for your weekend! Our picks for the season share more than flowers in their titles; they are also some of the most well-reviewed novels in our catalog. When all is read and done, what seemed like a spring fling may just turn into a lasting reading relationship!
![Violeta [English Edition] by Isabel Allende](https://images2.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/9780593496220)
This sweeping novel from the author of A Long Petal of the Sea tells the epic story of Violeta Del Valle, a woman whose life spans one hundred years and bears witness to the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century. Through the eyes of a woman whose unforgettable passion, determination, and sense of humor carry her through a lifetime of upheaval, Isabel Allende once more brings us an epic that is both fiercely inspiring and deeply emotional.
“An immersive saga about a passion-filled life.”—People
Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue, returns with a tantalizing novel about the secrets, betrayal, and murder within one of New York City’s most impressive Gilded Age mansions.
An extraordinary novel from a Man Booker International Prize-winning author that follows one young Omani woman as she builds a life for herself in Britain and reflects on the relationships that have made her from a “remarkable” writer who has “constructed her own novelistic form” (James Wood, The New Yorker).
“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”
So begins Peony’s unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow–as Lisa See’s haunting new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seize power and the Ming dynasty is crushed. Ultimately, Lisa See’s new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard.
“A little gem of a novel . . . [and a] beautifully written exploration of the power of art.” —Parade
A professor invites a colleague from the art department to his home to see a painting that he has kept secret for decades. The professor swears it is a Vermeer—why has he hidden this important work for so long? The reasons unfold in a series of stories that trace ownership of the painting back to World War II and Amsterdam, and still further back to the moment of the work’s inspiration. As the painting moves through each owner’s hands, what was long hidden quietly surfaces, illuminating poignant moments in human lives. Vreeland’s characters remind us, through their love of the mysterious painting, how beauty transforms and why we reach for it, what lasts, and what in our lives is singular and unforgettable.
A sensual tale of art, lust, and deception.
“Sumptuous prose . . . reads like a thriller.”—The New York Times Book Review
A beautiful scarf connects two women touched by tragedy in this compelling, emotional novel from the author of As Bright as Heaven and The Last Year of the War.
“A suspenseful and eye-opening historical work reminiscent of Christina Baker Kline’s Orphan Train, Jamie Ford’s Songs of Willow Frost, and Lisa Wingate’s Before We Were Yours.”—Library Journal (starred review)
Suspenseful, hopeful, and ultimately redemptive, White Chrysanthemum tells a story of two Korean sisters whose love for each other is strong enough to triumph over the grim evils of war.
For more on these and related books, visit the collection Floral Fiction
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