This is the second book this week that I have had on my blog that features a collaboration of three authors. I think collaborations are a fun way to incorporate very different writing styles and visions to work toward a common plot. I think it gives readers a glimpse of something different and allows for the authors to make something truly unique and give readers the feel they are reading very different characters. It can also be a big challenge for authors.
Culminating three different styles can come with its own set of challenges but considering all of these authors are tried and tested in their own individual books, I think this is going to be an interesting mashup! I have read a ton of MJ Rose’s novels over the years and always love escaping into her elegant prose and rich stories. Alyson Richmond has been another solid author for me who writes great historical novels that I have found pleasure in reading. Sofia Lindberg is a new to me author so I can’t speak to her ability but it sound like she is a popular Scandinavian author in her own right!
I am super excited to share this book with all of you guys. I couldn’t fit it into my review schedule but the book sound compelling with an interesting storyline, one that toggles between the past and present which is one of my favorite literary devices. Part of the story is set in Sweden and I think that’s going to be a new and fun location to take readers. This book is out now, keep reading to get all the details and pick up a copy of this book today!
Summary
While men have long been credited with producing the first abstract paintings, the true creator was actually a woman – Swedish artist Hilma af Klint, who was inspired by her mystic visions. Acclaimed authors Sofia Lundberg, Alyson Richman, and M.J. Rose bring her story to life in this groundbreaking novel.
Early 1900s: The world belongs to men, and the art world in Stockholm, Sweden, is no different, until Hilma af Klint brings together a mysterious group of female painters and writers–Anna, Cornelia, Sigrid, and Mathilda–to form their own emotional and artistic support system. The members of the Friday Night Club find themselves thrust into uncharted territory when Hilma and her best friend, Anna, begin dabbling in the occult, believing that through séances they can channel unseen spirits to help them achieve their potential as artists. “The Five,” as Hilma referred to them, was a group of immensely talented, fascinating women whose lives and work were cast into obscurity…until now.
The Present: Over a century later, an associate curator at the Guggenheim Museum, Eben Elliot, brings the Hilma af Klint show to New York where he uncovers questions about the Five and how the modern day art world is funded, which puts him in a precarious position both emotionally and professionally, as he witnesses how history can be manipulated.
The Friday Night Club is an illuminating historical novel that explores destiny, passion, and the threads that connect five women as they challenge artistic and societal traditions. (summary from Goodreads)
The Lit Bitch 