This beautifully, crafted novel of historical fiction, relates events in the life of poet Elizabeth Bishop while visiting Paris on the brink of World War II. Bishop, a meticulous keeper of journals, had a three-week gap in her journal of 1937. She has just graduated from Vassar College and is not yet the poet she will become. Wieland poses a scenario between Bishop and an older-women, who recruits her into helping rescue two Jewish children, placing them into a convent and saving them from the holocaust. The story shows her introduction to Marianne Moore, who will be her mentor and while in France, Bishop meets Sylvia Beach, Natalie Barney and German deputy ambassador Ernst vom Rath (his assassination was used as the pretext for Kristallnacht). The remaining chapters move quickly through the rest of Elizabeth’s life and relationships, touching briefly on her friendship with the poet Robert Lowell.

There is a dream-like quality to Wieland’s prose, lending the writing a feeling of surrealism. What is real and what is imagined? Bishop seems to be standing back and observing the events unfolding around her, trying to decide her place in what she sees. There is a strong sense of time and place, and the relationships Bishop has with the women, who were possibly her lovers, is handled gently. I would recommend this novel to fans of Elizabeth Bishop, as well as fans of historical fiction.

After reading the synopsis for this book I knew this book might be for me. It was about a time and place that I'm very interested in and have read plenty about. I enjoy reading about WWII and how it affected different people and countries differently. Plus I didn't know much about Elizabeth Bishop the poet.
Unfortunately this book did not do it for me. The writing style was not for me. I don't know if I was expecting something more journal style or more poetic, but it felt a bit staccato-like and abrupt. One minute it is talking ABOUT Elizabeth and the next minute it says "I". Perhaps that was the poetic style, but it did not flow for me and didn't work for the story. I felt like we got a lot of NY Vassar times with Elizabeth and her friends, but I didn't feel fully invested in them. By the time they got to Paris, I was skimming the pages. The turn around happened when there was a very unfortunate car accident and that part pulled me in slightly. Still, the writing style threw me. Elizabeth was a very interesting character and I wish I got more information from this story about her during this horrific time. She was a giving person and love fiercely in her own way, but I wish I would've gotten that more thoughout the story.
Story was mediocre at best for me, but it did have potential. Just wasn't for me.
Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

As I did not know very much about Elizabeth Bishop, I found this to be an interesting read. There were parts that dragged on in my opinion, but overall I did learn a lot about her life. Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Paris, 7 a.m. by Liza Wieland

I didn’t know anything about the poet Elizabeth Bishop, before this book, and this story didn’t draw me any closer to knowing her. The story mostly covered Bishop’s time at Vassar and her stay in Paris with her girlfriends pre WWII.

Although there are references to Hitler and the approaching war in Europe while they were in Paris, no real tension or fear was created for the reader for this time period.

The author’s writing was hard to follow, and truthfully, the story wasn’t that compelling until Elizabeth goes off to Normandy with her friend Clara. That section of the book was spectacular, as the reader had no clue as to what was about to happen. The story needed more of this drama to keep my interest.

Wieland’s writing is like a poem with no rhythm. It’s pretty in parts, but doesn’t carry you through. Very suddenly, you are in another place with a conversation about someone new and you wonder how you got there. I’m sure this is intentional on the author’s part, but it didn’t appeal to me.

A beautifully written book about Elizabeth Bishop and a missing year in her life that remains very mysterious because there is no record of what she was doing at that time. Set in Paris just before World War II Elizabeth is recruited into rescuing Jewish children from Nazi Germany. Whether this happened or not is mute because the writing is so beautiful, it is very like Elizabeth Bishop's poetry.

#Paris,7AM #NetGalley
Liza Wieland’s new book of historical fiction is about a would be poet, Elizabeth Bishop, who is graduating from Vassar and going to Europe, mainly Paris, in the late 1930’s and early 40’s. She had a tough time growing up, losing her father early and then having her mother institutionalized. Elizabeth also blames herself for a friend’s suicide.
The prose is very artsy since that is how she thinks.
This quote, from the book, sums up the story quite well. “Something awful is lying in the shadows, in wait, some bloodied, menacing, monstrous thing that no one can imagine.”
Elizabeth meets some very interesting people including several connected with the Fuhrer. She unknowingly becomes a participant to help smuggle Jewish infants out of the country and must promise never to tell anyone. This will haunt and influence her forever.
It’s an interesting story. However, it only gives brief glimpses of her later life in the United States. There is good characterization and should appeal to women, especially those interested in the arts.

It was evident that much research preceded the writing of this novel. However, the style of writing masked the depth of the story. I very much enjoyed learning more about Elizabeth Bishop, but the read was tedious.

I hadn’t realized that Elizabeth was a real person. I liked the descriptions of Elizabeth and her friends and life at Vassar. After graduation they decide to go to Paris. I enjoyed Elizabeth’s travels outside Paris and meeting other people.

I had wanted to see the relationship between Clair and Elizabeth grow more or seem more important to the book.
Elizabeth just didn’t seem to be as present as a main character should be but am unsure if that is how she was in real life or the book?

It was interesting to read about Paris in this time period before WW2. I would be interested to read some other book by this author as I liked how she described the scenes.

I hate to give poor reviews, but this book was just not for me. The writer's style was not appealing and the plot of the story seemed to disappear. I love poetry and history based fiction but I could not interested in this story.

I was interested in this novel because I love Elizabeth Bishop's poetry. I found the storyline hard to follow and wished the focus on Bishop was stronger.

1937 Paris. The poet Elizabeth Bishop and friends arrive in Paris after graduating from colkege. Although Bishop was an ardent journal writer, there are three weeks unaccounted for in her journals. The author provides a fictionalized account of what may have happened during those three weeks.
Reading this book felt like I was reading Bishop's poetry, observant and dream like, almost detached. This was actually my favorite part.
The book starts while she is still at Vassar, this was a bit too long for me - but sets up Bishops character and mindset.
I recommend reading the poem 'Paris 7 a.m.'
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this boo

This was a DNF for me at around 58%. I enjoyed the writing style to an extent. I liked how it felt like a poem, but at some parts I was just completely lost as to where in the world the characters were, what was truly happening and not a thought in Bishops imagination, and what on earth the character were talking about. I'm sure it'll be inserted when it's released, but without quotation marks, it took me a couple beats to figure out who was talking and if it was actual dialogue. I'm sure others will enjoy it more than I did, and I'm a fan of historical fiction, but again this book just wasn't for me.

I looked at some reviews that said "this book was not for me" and I have to say I 100% agree. Elizabeth Bishop seems to have had an interesting life but it was not captured in the book. The first half of the book was about her in college and a trip to Paris after Vassar where she meets the upper-crust in Paris.. Not much really happened in this time and the book was trying too hard to be poetic. At times the book is difficult to follow. That may be due to the lack of parentheses. Fortunately, half way through the book Elizabeth was in a car wreck and eventually, the story about the Jewish orphans she helped save was written about. The book ended with 9 short chapters from 1940-1979 that gave a brief look at Elizabeth's life over that time period. By this point I did not care and wanted this book to end. I actually had learned more on Wikipedia about Elizabeth Bishop than I took away from this book. I would not have finished this book if I did not want to provide a review to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy of this book.

I love historical fiction but I couldn't get into this one... I don't know if it was the writing style but I struggled to finish reading.

I received a review copy in exchange for a honest review.

This is a novel that captures how a poet sees and thinks about the world. Never having read about Elizabeth Bishop before, I loved the journey of her life. It’s not always pretty, joyful, or painless but it is raw and unstaged.

I am not sure how to review this book. It was easy to read but hard to understand. It follows the story of Elizabeth from college to her elder years. It spoke about her relationships her entire life. I felt like it was a description of her life more than a story. I found it hard to follow because I couldn't figure out if it was her daydreaming, thinking of the past or the current time. I have a feeling this story just wasn't for me.

I loved. This book. It kept me interested till the end. It had a wonderful setting and characters and was rich with atmosphere.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read for an honest review. I love the concept of this story. The writing style is something I’m not very used to, but it did not take away from the story. After a few chapters I became accustomed to the style.
Looking forward to more from Liza.

I was so excited to read this ,but a was disappointed. I could not get into it and a love historical fiction. The plot has so much promise,but it just fell flat for me.

This was a lovely novel, filled with gorgeous settings and romantic characters. I enjoyed following the trials and tribulations of the heroine and her leading men. She was extremely moving and I found myself rooting for her. I highly recommend this novel.