Thank you to the author Liza Wieland, the publisher Simon & Schuster, and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

The book is semi-biographical. It is about the poet, Elizabeth Bishop, and is written in historical context of time she spent in Europe, specifically France, mostly Paris. It is fiction in that it creates an interlude in which Elizabeth makes a journey to northern France and helps to transport Jewish infant refugees to a French Catholic orphanage.

I should first point out that I have never heard of Elizabeth Bishop, nor read any of her poetry before reading this novel. Having read some poems afterwords, including the one titled "Paris, 7 AM" would have really been interesting to have read some prior to reading this book.

First, I thought that the author did a good job of evoking the tone of Bishop's poems in her storyline. The author did a good job of depicting the fear and foreboding about an upcoming was with Nazi Germany. And yet Elizabeth and her friends still had a mostly rollicking good time while in Paris.

The issue that I had with this book was in the conversations written by the author. It was very difficult to follow who was saying what and I had to frequently reread sections when I became confused as to who was speaking.

I am guessing that the book would have been a better read for someone who is a fan of or who has read Elizabeth Bishop's poetry.

I give it a 3.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

I was really excited to read Paris, 7 AM but was hard for me to get into. I did not feel like the beginning came back around to the ending.

This book is comprised of overwritten and overthought sentences. “The whole landscape of colleges scaffolds and pillories, stocks and bonds, glass houses, and stone lying around everywhere. These notions, like wolves, drift in from the darkened edges of her mind.” Every little mundane detail gets ridiculously embellished. Maybe that’s the way poets look at things, but I found it pretentious and unbearable. “The desks are wild floating islands, mountainous with books, with flotillas of pencils and pens cruising about the shallows.”

I made it to the 33% point, and nothing approaching “a life-changing adventure” had appeared. I didn’t have the patience to wait for its arrival and abandoned this book. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Imagining and retracing the path of young Elizabeth Bishop as she travels throughout Paris and France seems like a good premise for a story, and I enjoyed it quite well enough. The book picks up the only year that Bishop didn't keep a journal, which was interesting, and chronicles an important part of her young life, as she and her friends contemplate (and defy) the expectations placed on them as young women in the 1930s.

Liza Wieland's Paris 7 a.m. contains beautiful storytelling and writing, making it a pleasurable and worthwhile read.

I kept finding myself looking for clues about her writing, its inspiration, and at times, it felt forced to read about what appeared to be feeds of detail that we know would become parts of her poems.

I tried to read through this novel more than once and it just never stuck. I couldn't follow the story, or I guess couldn't stay interested in the story progression.

The best way to describe this book is disjointed. There are paragraphs of information that is put together in a book. 2/5
#netgalley

I was so excited to read this one, but boy did I struggle. The lack of punctuation was so confusing and I had to keep going back to read many passages over again to figure out what was being said. The content was a subject that was very intriguing for me, but I just couldn't stay engaged. I really wanted to love this book and tried multiple times to stay engaged, but it just didn't happen.

Imagine there was a knowledge gap of several months in the history of your life. For most of us, that would not present a problem. For followers of poet Elizabeth Bishop this presents more of a thought provoking issue for Bishop maintained daily journals throughout her life, except for much of 1937 when she stopped entirely. In Paris, 7 A.M., Liza Wieland has imagined what may have happened to Elizabeth during this important post-college year as she works to develop her skills and learn more about herself and the world.

Reading Paris, 7 A.M. has been an odd experience. At times I was captivated by the use of some sparkling or powerful imagery while at others I was confused on the most basic level of who was speaking/narrating what I was reading. The absence of punctuation and frequent lack of identifiers, combined with the fact of so much of the book taking place within Elizabeth’s mind, makes some true conversation difficult to parse out. As the story proceeds, thankfully, this becomes less of an issue.

Perhaps if I had gone into this reading with more knowledge of Bishop and her work I would have understood more of what I read. Of course that’s impossible now. There are pleasures here especially in some of the wonderful imagery sprinkled throughout the book. And, as we come to know and experience Elizabeth more, and as she has meaningful experiences in pre-World War II France in the second part of the book, there is more to enjoy in this recreation of her life. Rated 3 to 3.5*

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is about Elisabeth Bishop where during the war she tried to do her part to help out the children of News so they wouldn't have to suffer at the hands of Hilter. Hands down a wonderful reading book. Ty net galley

I was provided with an ARC of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a lush slice of Parisian life on the eve of Hitler's ascension to power. The impending chaos echoes in the personal tragedies, peccadilloes and struggles of the main character. Elizabeth Bishop's innermost thoughts and motivations are portrayed with stunning prose that humanizes her in a way the reader can relate to.

This is a wonderful backstory that illuminates the life of one of the most elusive poets of our time.

I was excited to read Paris 7 A.M. by Liza Wieland. My choice of genre is WWII historical fiction. I liked the synopsis that this was a story of a missing time period of Elizabeth Bishop’s journal. The author made up this part of the journal about Elizabeth’s time in Paris in 1937. Elizabeth helped rescue Jewish orphans and deliver them to a convent to be baptized. Unfortunately, this synopsis is misleading. Touch of the novel is about Elizabeth’s life growing up and her time at Vasser. The author doesn’t write about the time period in the synopsis until near the half-way point. Then, too much time was spent after the missing time period in the journal about her later life. The book just did not work for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Schuster for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Paris, 7 A.M.
by Liza Wieland

Simon & Schuster

Historical Fiction , Literary Fiction

Pub Date 11 Jun 2019


I am reviewing a copy of Paris 7 a.m through Simon & Schuster and Netgalley:


In June of 1937, Elizabeth Bishop was still a young woman and not yet the world renowned poet she became. Elizabeth Bishop arrives in France with her college roomates. The group is in search of escape and inspiration, far away from Vassar College where they are expected to find an impressive husband and lead a quiet life, and act in according manner. The world is changing though as they explore the City of Light, the larger threats of fascism and occupation are looming. It is there they meet a community of upper-crust-expatriates who not only share a life changing adventure they also go into an underground world of rebellion that will alter Elizabeth’s life forever.


Paris 1937 allows us a fictionalized account of what Elizabeth Bishop a meticulous keeper of journals, the one year she did not meticulously journal. This novel brings in vivid detail a trip from Paris and Normandy where she becomes involved with a group rescuing Jewish “Orphans” and delivering them to convents so they can be baptized as Catholics and spare them from the horrors there parents are about to face.



Liz Wieland’s Paris 7 a.m is a poignant and captivating tale of the formative years of one of America’s most informative of one of America’s most celebrated American female poets.


I give Paris 7 A.M five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

I just couldn't connect with this book. I really enjoy books about this era and was so looking forward to reading it. There isn't anything specific I can point to that would have made me more interested. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity and I strongly believe just because this book wasn't for me doesn't mean it isn't loved by others.
Thanks to the author for opportunity and I will look for future books by Liza Wieland.

I would like to give thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.
While the storyline was interesting, it was too fast paced. Too many things going on for me to enjoy learning and piecing together for myself what had caused certain events. some parts were predictable as well.
I look forward to the next book from this author because she has great ideas.

What a gorgeous novel. It captures, I think, the complexity of Elizabeth Bishop, when she was young, still finding her way, still forming her writing. There is a stark lyricism that is evocative of her work, but not yet the wide-open gaze. It follows Elizabeth and two friends as they spend some months in Paris in the years before World War II. The stories - of her lightfootedness around her sexuality and the way she does not name it, of her connection to the older woman who lends them her flat and then asks Elizabeth to help in a form of early resistance. Brilliant language, hypnotic rhythm, and a Paris just on the cusp of changing forever, just on the cusp of occupation. Wonderful.

I love historical fiction, especially when based on true people and events, so I was intrigued by the premise of this book; a well-known American Poet, Elizabeth Bishop, who has kept a meticulous journal her whole life travels to Paris in 1937 and does not record anything for the 3 weeks she spent there during the threat of WW2. Because the main character is a poet, I think the author approached this story in more of a poetic type/lyric style of writing. However, for me, it made it difficult to discern what was really going on with the plot throughout the book. Additionally the book's description states she becomes involved in rescuing Jewish orphans which really interested me, but it was really a small part of the plot. Unfortunately, the story fell flat for me for these reasons.

For Readers familiar with the lambent poetry of Elizabeth Bishop and the intricacies of her life and loves, this imaginative take on the post-college year she spent in Paris in 1937 will add little to her actual biography . Since 1937 was the one year omitted in the prolific writer's meticulously kept journals, the setting, plot and other characters exist in a "What if?" dimension, but that won't dime or diminish the novel's small pleasures. The author, herself a prize-winning poet and novelist, has command of her subject and her language - the plot, involving the rescue of Jewish orphans, is less skillfully realized.

I did not finish it.

The plot sounds intriguing and interesting but the problem was the writing could not draw me in. As much as I tried to get into it but I eventually gave up. I think this is the type of book either you love it or hate it.

The author did a brilliant job of capturing the time period in this novel. The characters and plot were also well written. This was a great piece of historical fiction!