Synopses & Reviews
Octavio Ribeiro is a rising movie star in Chile when, at the request of famed poet Pablo Neruda, he agrees to serve as a media trainer in the presidential campaign of Salvador Allende. This involvement exposes Octavio and his family -- especially his wife, Salom -- to the ruthless kidnapping and terror tactics of Allende's political rival, General Augusto Pinochet...until they escape to political exile in Sweden, where another couple -- Samuel and Kaija Rudin -- are also living as expatriates.Dr. Rudin is a psychiatrist specializing in treating people who, like Salom, have been traumatized by the events of war and upheaval. As the Rudins and Ribeiros dance with destiny, each family must confront the secrets they have kept from one another -- and face the personal consequences of their political choices. Rich with historical detail, and written in shimmering prose, Swedish Tango is an epic tale of two cultures that no reader will soon forget.
Review
"Staggeringly evocative, romantic, heart-rending, sensual and beautifully written... may very well be the Sophie's Choice of this generation."
Review
"Daringly constructed, this moving novel begins at the end and then, in a fully-realized circle through the most traumatic event of the 20th century, returns you there in a way that makes your heart leap."
Review
"A love story wrapped in tragedy and survival, I read The Lost Wife in one sitting. Tense, emotional and fulfilling: a great achievement by Alyson Richman."
Review
Praise for The Rhythm of Memory "An engrossing examination of the prisons people create for themselves...an ambitious exploration of political and personal struggles."—Publishers Weekly
"A heart-wrenching story of loss and love."—Library Journal
"Beautiful, evocative language and sense of place."—Kirkus Reviews
Praise for The Lost Wife
"A truly beautiful heartfelt story...I couldn't put it down once I started it. Ms. Richman is a very special talent."—New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah
"Staggeringly evocative, romantic, heartrending, sensual, and beautifully written...the Sophie's Choice of this generation."—New York Times bestselling author John Lescroat
"Daringly constructed."—Two-time Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Loring Mandel
"Tense, emotional and fulfilling."—NBC News Special Correspondent and Jewish National Book Award winner Martin Fletcher
Review
"A truly beautiful heartfelt story...I couldn't put it down once I started it. Ms. Richman is a very special talent."—New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah
Synopsis
Summer, 1890. Van Gogh arrives at Auvers-sur-Oise, a bucolic French village that lures city artists to the country. It is here that twenty-year-old Maurguerite Gachet has grown up, attending to her father and brother ever since her mother's death. And it is here that Vincent Van Gogh will spend his last summer, under the care of Doctor Gachet - homeopathic doctor, dilettante painter, and collector. In these last days of his life, Van Gogh will create over 70 paintings, two of them portraits of Marguerite Gachet. But little does he know that, while capturing Marguerite and her garden on canvas, he will also capture her heart.
Both a love story and historical novel, The Last Van Gogh recreates the final months of Vincent's life - and the tragic relationship between a young girl brimming with hope and an artist teetering on despair.
Synopsis
A rapturous novel of first love in a time of war-from the celebrated author of The Rhythm of Memory and The Last Van Gogh.
In pre-war Prague, the dreams of two young lovers are shattered when they are separated by the Nazi invasion. Then, decades later, thousands of miles away in New York, there's an inescapable glance of recognition between two strangers...
Providence is giving Lenka and Josef one more chance. From the glamorous ease of life in Prague before the Occupation, to the horrors of Nazi Europe, The Lost Wife explores the power of first love, the resilience of the human spirit- and the strength of memory.
Synopsis
In this sweeping epic, true love transcends the brutality of war.
Octavio Ribeiro loves truth, beauty, literature, and above all else, his wife Salomé. As a student in Chile, he courted her with the words of great poets, and she fell in love with his fierce intelligence and uncompromising passion. Then a sudden coup brings a brutal military dictatorship into power, and puts anyone who resists in grave danger.
Salomé begs Octavio to put his family’s safety first, rather than speak against the new regime. When he refuses, it’s Salomé who pays the price.
Belatedly awake to the reality of their danger, Octavio finds political asylum for the family in Sweden. But for Salomé, the path back to love is fraught with painful secrets, and the knowledge that they can never go home again.
Previously published as Swedish Tango
About the Author
Alyson Richman is the author of: The Mask Carver's Son, The Rhythm of Memory (previously published as Swedish Tango), The Last Van Gogh and The Lost Wife. Her novels have been published in ten languages and have received both national and international critical acclaim. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and a former Thomas J. Watson Fellow. She currently lives with her husband and children in Long Island, New York.