Have you read other books by this author, and if so, how do they compare to this one? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style? What audience would you recommend A Map to Paradise to?
I’ve read 2 other books by Susan - The Nature of Fragile Things and Only the Beautiful. I really liked both of them. I liked A Map to Paradise too. But not quite as much as the other 2.
I had not read any other books by this author. I liked the book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys b books about women’s friendships with an important dose of American history included. The Blacklist and McCarthyism is a dirty part of American history that is being forgotten, is not being taught in schools, and history is threatening to repeat itself.
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I have read several of Meissner’s novels and this is not a favorite. I enjoyed it but I felt it lacked the depth of some of her other work. She remains one of my very favorite novelists.
If you’re interested in more books about Hollywood and the Blacklist, I highly recommend Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra. It’s incredibly well-written and I found it quite entertaining.
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I highly recommend Mercury Pictures Presents.
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I’ve read and highly recommend The Nature of Fragile Things and Only the Beautiful, also by Susan Meissner.
Additionally, she co-wrote When We Had Wings with Kristina McMorris and Ariel Lawhon, and it is excellent.
A Map to Paradise is my least favorite of her books so far.
I have read all of Susan Meissner’s books, and I enjoyed this book. It seemed “lighter” than some of her other books, yet also showed the historical implications of the era, through the characters. The author vividly describes the scenery, timeline and characters in her books.
This is my eighth book by Susan Meissner. My favorites so far are Only the Beautiful, Secrets of a Charmed Life, and The Shape of Mercy. In terms of theme and style, I find that Lisa Wingate and Elizabeth Musser’s works are quite similar to Meissner’s. I highly recommend her books to fans of heartfelt historical fiction.
I have read nine of her novels beginning with A Fall of Marigolds. As mentioned previously my favorite Is Secrets of a Charmed Life…but really enjoyed the others. My ratings previously were in the 4-5 range. This, for me a 3. She usually has an interesting topic that centers the book. The books I previously read had a little more depth…My favorite genre is historical fiction. I also enjoy Marie Benedict and Fiona Davis.
I’ve read nearly all of Susan Meissner’s books. Kristin Harmel and Lisa Wingate are similar authors in my opinion.
I’ve read other books by Susan Meissner with “Fall of Marigolds” & “As Bright As Heaven” being my favorites. I’d put “Map to Paradise” somewhere in the middle. I liked that she chose a topic & time period that hasn’t been explored much by historical fiction writers & I’m glad she didn’t base it on a real person, just name dropped to add credibiity.
As others have mentioned, other writers of historical fiction that can be compared to Meissner are Kristin Harmel, Kristin Hannah, & Adriana Trigiani.
I have read 2 other books by this author As Bright as Heaven and The Last Year of The War. I thoroughly enjoyed The Last Year of the War. This book A Map of Paradise is a lot different than her usual writing.
I have read two other books by this author, Only the Beautiful and The Nature of Fragile Things. I enjoyed these two and A Map to Paradise very much. I think her books are interesting, well-written and would appeal to people who enjoy historical fiction.
I have read all of her books. I find them very well written with good plots and good character development. I am not always pleased with the “happy” endings, not too realistic sometimes, but they remain enjoyable reads with often a lesson to be learned.
I have not read anything by this author, but I do want to some of her other ones so I will add her name to my “to read” list!
I have read most of Susan Meissner’s other books. I usually enjoy them very much. I think she expresses peoples feelings very well by “showing” their actions, expressions, body language, etc., rather than simply “telling” us the character was afraid, happy, worried, etc. Her characters grow throughout the book and yet stay in character and are believable. She has tackled some difficult topics (Americans incarcerated as “enemy sympathizers”, children who are “a disappointment” because of handicaps, child abuse, etc.
I think a good audience for this book is a person who wants to understand WHY people act as they do or HOW they arrive as momentous decisions.