Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932: A Richly Imagined Novel of Love, Ambition, and Betrayal in 1920s Paris (P.S. (Paperback))

I found this piece of fine literature to be an absolute page turner. At the same time that I am focusing on writing my own memoir, I found myself opening this book every free second, and in the middle of the night (for hours); not only interrupting my sleep pattern but taking time away from my own writing. There is nothing in this review that doesn't contain spoilers already present in the editorial reviews of the book. It is the story, from the raging 20's to the end of WWII, of primarily a cross-dressing lesbian who went from being a professional athlete, to a race car driver, to a spy that told the Germans how to bypass the entire French line of defense in the WWII invasion of France, to a torturer for the Gestapo. Her ending is disclosed to the reader early on, and the bulk of the book enticingly shows you how she arrived at that end. At the same time, it is the story of a fascinating chorus of characters: a Henry Miller type author, a successful photographer and the two women who loved him (a teacher and a Baroness with oodles of cash). The readers goes with the characters throughout Paris, from mingling with homeless under a bridge, to a glittering society dinner for 40 in the 20's, to sitting beside Hitler at a full state banquent before the Berlin Olympics, to the torture chambers in the basement of Gestapo headquarters in France, and moreover roams all over France. This, and a completely different tale, "A Soldier In The Great War", rank among the two best books I…

This is a very compelling read. It starts off a little confusingly due to so many narrators. However it quickly picks up and is beautifully written. I was transported to occupied Paris. I feel that the characters were well developed. I was very engaged with the characters and felt like I got a good taste of what life in occupied France, particularly Paris was like. The end was a little disconnected when one of the main characters disavowed her relationship with another main character. Not sure why that was added or maybe it was a remnant of another mini plot that was edited out. It didn't really affect the read I just didn't understand it's purpose in the story . I would highly recommend this book.

I don't usually rate but this book is worth calling attention to. It is written with interesting voices and a complex interplay between the various "components". It covers a still fresh and continually interesting time in France - Paris leading up to and including the beginning of WW II. IT is done is a way sure to keep your attention. While the end is a bit wobbly the rest is far from it

This book had to written as fiction. There simply aren't enough facts available to write an historically accurate book. That though is the strength of the book. It's a good story about a time and place that most of us know nothing about. I have to admit that the first third of the book was truly daunting. I thought I had wasted both time and money on this book. Then it all started flowing together. Once all the various pieces are in place it's an impressive book. The one thing that makes this book worth reading is that it paints a picture of Paris before WW 2 that we have never seen. As Americans we're terribly uninformed about France and it's role in the war. We know a little bit about England but very little about France. That's one reason I enjoyed this book so much.

I really enjoyed Lovers at the Chameleon Club. It tells a fictionalized version of a true story - proving once again that truth is stranger than fiction. Lou Villars (real-life Violette Morris) is a talented athlete and, later, race car driver who has her profession taken away from her when she is denied the chance to compete because of her cross dressing. (Napoleonic law allowed women to wear no more than 4 pieces of men's clothing.) The story is told by multiple characters which makes for a bit of an unreliable narrator scenario. Whose version of the truth is the real one? I highly recommend looking up the photographs of Brassai who is also fictionalized in the book. His black and white photos of Paris at night in the 30s are haunting.