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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Excellent. If you liked the idea of The Goldfinch but hated the book, this might be more to your liking. Similar vibe, more tightly edited. I thought the ending was perfect.
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unusual and interesting story, told with skill and finesse. There are actually 3 separate stories, all woven together through a specific painting, set in vastly different places and times. The artist Sara de Vos is from Holland in the 1600s, whose tragic story of a difficult life and extraordinary artistic talent emerges through her enduring artwork. Young Australian art restoration specialist and PhD student Ellie is commissioned to produce a copy of this painting in New York in the 1960s, when it has been in the family of Marty de Groot for centuries. After discovering the fake, he seeks out its origin and discovers Ellie, forming a relationship and ultimately taking his revenge. Both the original and the fake then make their way to the Sydney gallery where a grown Ellie works in the year 2000, forcing her to face her past and that of the original artist to find closure. The writing is beautiful - poetic without being overly flowery, and elegantly portraying and linking the three separate stories. Ellie's story, with its Australian setting and evocative prose, reminded me strongly of books by Janette Turner Hospital, whose writing I've treasured for years. Definitely worth reading, really enjoyed it!
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
I wanted to love this, but it was just sad and slow
medium-paced
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
“Every work is a depiction and a lie. We arrange the living, exaggerate the light, intimate dusk when it’s really noonday sun.”
I rarely write reviews but I want to make a habit of it this year. Right now, I will make it short and maybe over time I’ll move on to longer ones (or not? depending on my mood...).
Firstly, I expected so much more from this book... One of the reviews in the beginning pages likened this to Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch” so obviously I thought reading this would be very fun for me, after all, I ADORE Donna Tartt’s novels, in which “The Goldfinch” is no exception. I think maybe that review exaggerated their similarities because I found that their only likeness was that in both books the main plot point revolves around stolen art and that both take place (in some part) in NYC. That’s where the similarity ends. To be completely frank, this book did not quite click for me. I picked this up from the library with much excitement but more often than not I got bored whilst reading the long passages and realized I kept skipping pages or skimming them quickly. I could even be blunter and say that I only managed to finish this today because the time on my book check-out is running out and I just want to give this back and be free from the pressure it put on me.
Also, I do want to say that whilst writing this I feel quite dense and maybe I just didn’t get it or something but I just didn’t like this book a lot.
p.s. Quite a shame that my first read of the year is a 2-star. Fingers crossed the next one will end up being better!
I rarely write reviews but I want to make a habit of it this year. Right now, I will make it short and maybe over time I’ll move on to longer ones (or not? depending on my mood...).
Firstly, I expected so much more from this book... One of the reviews in the beginning pages likened this to Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch” so obviously I thought reading this would be very fun for me, after all, I ADORE Donna Tartt’s novels, in which “The Goldfinch” is no exception. I think maybe that review exaggerated their similarities because I found that their only likeness was that in both books the main plot point revolves around stolen art and that both take place (in some part) in NYC. That’s where the similarity ends. To be completely frank, this book did not quite click for me. I picked this up from the library with much excitement but more often than not I got bored whilst reading the long passages and realized I kept skipping pages or skimming them quickly. I could even be blunter and say that I only managed to finish this today because the time on my book check-out is running out and I just want to give this back and be free from the pressure it put on me.
Also, I do want to say that whilst writing this I feel quite dense and maybe I just didn’t get it or something but I just didn’t like this book a lot.
p.s. Quite a shame that my first read of the year is a 2-star. Fingers crossed the next one will end up being better!
Brilliant! The stories of Sara de Vos, Marty de Groot and Ellie Shipley are beautifully intertwined despite their extreme differences in circumstance (and era). It's really magical when an author can bring separate stories together so seamlessly.