This is the Mask: A Book Blog

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of “The Renoir Girls” by Catherine Ostler.

I love Renoir’s work; I think he was a brilliant artist, his paintings have so much depth to them that you can look at them for hours without losing interest. I am familiar with the paintings referenced in this book and think both of them are masterpieces. On reading the synopsis of this book I was very interested. What kind of life did these beautiful children live? Unfortunately, I never found out.

50% into the book and the author was still discussing the elite French society that the Cahen d’Anvers lived in, the nobility they hobnobbed with, the clothing they wore, and the places they vacationed. The lists of opulence began to get tedious. This book could easily have been half as long as it is. This was a DNF for me at about 60%. The only point of interest I took away was the disappointing fact that Renoir himself was anti-Semitic, though he had no problem taking commissions from Jewish people. It reminded me again of the discussion of how to separate the art from the artist. I still admire his work, but my opinion of him has disintegrated.

“The Renoir Girls” is out for publication on July 14, 2026