Impossible »

Danielle Steel has become more of a legend than any one of her books, which never fail to make the bestseller lists. Something of Steel's refinement and gentility transfers to her prose as her heroines enjoy enviable triumphs over inevitable tragedies.

When a high-powered gallery owner collides with a wildly offbeat artist, it’s the perfect recipe for disaster. But in her 63rd bestselling novel, Danielle Steel proves that when two hopelessly mismatched people share a love for art, a passion for each other, and a city like Paris, nothing is truly impossible…or is it?

Everything Sasha does is within the boundaries of tradition. Liam is sockless in December. Sasha is widowed, a woman who knows she was lucky enough to be married to the most wonderful man in the world and thankful for every moment they had. Liam is half in and half out of a marriage that only a “wacky” artist could manage, and that his own impossibly impulsive behavior has helped tear apart. But while Sasha has been methodically building her father’s Parisian art gallery into an intercontinental success story, Liam has been growing into one of the most original and striking young painters of his time. So while the two are utterly unalike–and a nine-year age difference stares them squarely in the face–the miracle of art brings them crashing together. Now the question is, can Sasha guard her reputation while juggling a secret, somewhat scandalous relationship? And how can Liam, who lives for the moment, put up with a woman who insists on having things her own way, in her own style, and at her own time?

For Sasha, it’s a matter of keeping Liam hidden from her grown children and well-heeled clientele as she commutes between New York and Paris and two thriving galleries. For Liam, it’s about creating chaos out of order, bringing out the wild streak that Sasha barely knows she has, of choosing pizza over foiegras, and making love when others are busy making money. That is, until a family tragedy suddenly alters Liam’s life–and forces a choice and a sacrifice that neither one of them could have expected. But from the snow falling on the Tuileries to the joy of eating ice cream by candlelight, the artist and the art dealer have tasted perfection. And giving up now might just be the most impossible thing of all.

With unerring insight into the hearts of men and women–and into the soul of the artist –Danielle Steel takes us into a world of glamour and genius, priceless art and dazzling creativity. From the luxurious galleries of Europe to the endless beaches of the Hamptons, ImPossible weaves an extraordinary tale of love and compromise, of taking chances and counting blessings. With brilliant color and breathtaking emotion, Danielle Steel has written her most compelling novel to date.

Publishers Weekly

Sasha de Suvery Boardman, the 48-year-old heroine of Steel's latest romance, knew she had it all-perfect marriage, two terrific grown kids, prestigious art galleries in Paris and New York, three luxury homes-until her husband's fatal heart attack. Now brokenhearted, but still beautiful and chic, she buries herself in her gallery work, until son Xavier introduces her to bad-boy painter Liam Allison, a gorgeous, "wacky" 39-year-old who instantly "[brings] out the mother in her." So she offers him a gallery contract, thus igniting a "torrid affair" punctuated by endless arguments about their nine-year age difference, his severe allergy to all forms of authority and their incompatible "lifestyles and appearances" (including his strong aversion to wearing socks). Despite Steel's repeated assurances that Liam is actually "innocent and likable," his petulance and impulsiveness are seriously off-putting, and the tortured romance has an icky, near-incestuous quality that may make some readers cringe. Others may just be bored by the sketchy, meandering plot, the skimpy characterizations and the hyperbolic, often stunningly repetitious style ("He was just a young man who liked to have fun and still acted like a boy at times, full of mischief and fun"). Even hardcore Steel addicts may not make it all the way through this one, her 63rd. (Mar. 1) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.