Featured Book: Rodin's Lover by Heather Webb

Sara Trucksess

It’s actually a lot harder to write a book review for a really great book than just an average one. All those quirky adjectives used to describe “unique” aspects of the average novel uselessly fall away when all you want to say is: “It’s JUST PLAIN GOOD!!” And that’s certainly the case with Heather Webb’s new historical fiction, Rodin’s Lover: A Novel. She has carefully researched the bare facts of Camille Claudel and August Rodin’s tumultuous relationship, and with the ease and good humor as if she had lived among these artists herself many decades ago, she has spun their story into a tale filled with engaging characters and painstakingly sculpted works of art.

As a 14-year-old girl on my first trip to the Musée Rodin in Paris, I easily took for granted that the work of Camille Claudel, Rodin’s “girlfriend” might be included in the museum dedicated to his life. It never even occurred to me (with perhaps great credit to my parents) that there might be any kind of historical preference…