Author Lisa Barr delivers a spellbinding story of friendship, art, and betrayal in World War II.
Fugitive Colors is one of those books where everything is researched so well that you double check multiple times that it is, in fact, fiction. Using meticulous research, the author personalizes a part of history that is often overlooked. A Germany run by Nazis committed many atrocities, but one of the lesser known aspects of Nazi policy was the crimes committed against art – the artists who created it.
Fugitive Colors tells the tale of Julian Klein, a young man born to create. From the moment has finally cast aside his oppressive Orthodox Jewish upbringing, Julian dedicated everything he had to his art. As he finally sets off to study with the masters in Paris, he meets a trio of young artists who will change the course of his life forever. There is Rene – the wealthy, handsome, and incredibly talented young painter who seems to get everything he wants. Adrienne is sultry, welcoming, and passionate about both her art and Rene. Finally there’s Felix, a wealthy young aristocrat who has access to everything he could possibly want – except true talent. As the lives of Rene, Felix, Adrienne, and Julian intertwine, the world is in turmoil around them. Can their friendship – and their art – really survive the Nazis?
Fugitive Colors is truly a masterfully written tale. From Julian’s humble beginnings as Yakov, to the bittersweet ending decades later, he is a character that you immediately get attached to, and his supporting cast are equally intriguing. In a time of such turmoil, you can’t expect happy endings all around – but what it lacks in levity, Fugitive Colors makes up for in sheer intrigue. There is love, there is betrayal, there is espionage, and more. Young Julian lives many lifetimes through the course of this book, each of them as interesting as the last.
Fugitive Colors is one of those books that you pick up looking to read just a few chapters, and look up hours later to realize you’ve read it through in one sitting. With an accurate historical re-telling of Nazi Germany as the background, Julian’s tale is simply to good to put down.