To Capture What We Cannot Keep

by Beatrice Colin

In February 1887, Caitriona Wallace and Emile Nouguier meet in a hot air balloon, floating high above Paris - a moment of pure possibility. But back on firm ground, their vastly different social strata become clear. Cait is a widow who because of her precarious financial situation is forced to chaperone two wealthy Scottish charges. Emile is expected to take on the bourgeois stability of his family's business and choose a suitable wife. As the Eiffel Tower rises, a marvel of steel and air and light, the subject of extreme controversy and a symbol of the future, Cait and Emile must decide what their love is worth. Seamlessly weaving historical detail and vivid invention, Beatrice Colin evokes the revolutionary time in which Cait and Emile live - one of corsets and secret trysts, duels and Bohemian independence, strict tradition and Impressionist experimentation. To Capture What We Cannot Keep, stylish, provocative, and shimmering, raises probing questions about a woman's place in that world, the overarching reach of class distinctions, and the sacrifices love requires of us all.

• ISBN10: 1250071445
• ISBN13: 9781250071446
• Publish Date: 29 November 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 2 July 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Flatiron Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

Ever since reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah last year and re-reading it again this year, I’ve been fascinated by stories set in France. And of course, after seeing this beautiful cover on NetGalley and reading the description, I was sold.
Paris. The building of the Eiffel Tower. Scotland. True love.

Just based on those four things most would think that Beatrice Colin wrote this book JUST for me. Unfortunately, To Capture What We Cannot Keep fell flat, I’m honestly I’m surprised I finished the book.

The best character in the book was Paris. The City lept off the pages. Colin explains the construction of the Eiffel Tower throughout the novel. The engineering behind it—how even the slighest mistake would cause the gravest problem. The controversy—many Parisans thought the Tower would ruin Paris and were against its construction. Colin strengthened my desire to visit Paris. Paris is the reason I kept reading the book.

The actual characters populating To Capture What We Cannot Keep were the worst thing. The characters populated a City abuzz with the construction of the Eiffel Tower and its preparation for the World’s Fair. Instead, they moved through the story in a rote fashion following the familiar spoiled naive brat, sad widow and unrequited love tropes. The characters and their journeys through such a vibrant city were sorely disappointing and frankly, quite dull.

My excitement for To Capture What We Cannot Keep faded fast and while the City of Light does shine bright throughout this novel, the lifeless characters moving through a predictable plot drag the story and dull the lights of a vibrant Paris.

[chymerra]

When I started reading this book, I didn’t know what to think about it. To be honest, the plot crept and I felt that it was weighted down by one-dimensional characters. I felt that there was no life to anyone but Cait and Emile. Jamie, Alice and Gabrielle…their portrayals were stereotypical of that time. I struggled to read the first half of the book, to be honest, because I felt bogged down by it.

I changed my mind by the 2nd half of the book. We learn more about Cait’s marriage, Alice and Jamie flushed out as characters and in surprising ways and Gabrielle….well she ended up being a woman scorned (READ THE BOOK!!!).

But overall, the love story of Cait and Emile was present…as was the construction of the Eiffel Tower and Emile’s social/status obligations. Which made the 2nd half of the book so interesting to read.

The ending of the book was perfect. Just saying, I couldn’t have written it any better myself.