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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Please don't judge this book by it's cover or its slow beginning with an orphan charity fundraiser. It is such a great story combining three different time periods across many continents. It really is a mystery, in the beginning you want to know how the paintings were switched and then you don't care about that anymore but wonder what will happen between the characters Ellie and Marty. I learned about art restoration and the lives of members of the Dutch guilds in 17th century Holland which sounds boring but the author makes it fascinating.
Not bad, just not my style. Bit dull for my tastes.
This would have earned five stars if not for the holes in the women characters. For example, 'Jake' took Ellie out for drinks, took her home, called her, showed up at her door, left while she was asleep then called her again... all in quick succession, in a single evening. Ellie did not seem to feel uneasy about this attention-bombing and I found it hard to swallow. Perhaps women in 50's Brooklyn, especially those who lived alone, didn't feel nervous or uncomfortable about this sort of thing? I'm sceptical.
Apart from this and similar observations, I found myself learning about art and wanting to strengthen my own attention to detail. Ellie's intimate knowledge of the process behind an artwork was fascinating.
The novel could have been made more poignant by further exploration of Sara's grief and Ellie's post-incident trauma and how it effected her in the intervening years. Nevertheless, it was a gripping, well-written novel that brilliantly wove three timelines around one historical artwork.
Highly recommend.
Apart from this and similar observations, I found myself learning about art and wanting to strengthen my own attention to detail. Ellie's intimate knowledge of the process behind an artwork was fascinating.
The novel could have been made more poignant by further exploration of Sara's grief and Ellie's post-incident trauma and how it effected her in the intervening years. Nevertheless, it was a gripping, well-written novel that brilliantly wove three timelines around one historical artwork.
Highly recommend.
Good, not great. Vaguely (in a much less satisfying way) reminded me of The Goldfinch...the world of NYC art deals and restoration, and I liked that.
Sara de Vos is an early 17th century Dutch painter whose last painting is At the Edge of a Wood. In 1950’s Manhattan, Marty de Groot is the painting’s current owner. However one evening he realises that the painting hanging in his bedroom is a forgery. Ellie Shipley is the forger; an Australian art history student at Columbia University struggling to write a dissertation, who on the side restores old paintings and was persuaded to paint the de Vos forgery that would have lasting consequences. Now in the year 2000, the Art Gallery of NSW is hosting an exhibition on Dutch artists, and both the real painting and the forgery are heading to Sydney where it risks unravelling Ellie’s life’s work.
The above description makes the book sound more exciting than it actually is. Seamlessly traversing back-and-forth across three time periods, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos is perfectly constructed with some beautiful prose (and makes me want to go view some art at a gallery) which I admired. I liked the book, but I found the characters lacked development for the story to truly take hold and move me.
3.5 stars
The above description makes the book sound more exciting than it actually is. Seamlessly traversing back-and-forth across three time periods, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos is perfectly constructed with some beautiful prose (and makes me want to go view some art at a gallery) which I admired. I liked the book, but I found the characters lacked development for the story to truly take hold and move me.
3.5 stars
A New York City patent attorney - a man of generational wealth and a childless marriage - discovers that the painting that hangs above his bed (one that has been in his family for 300 years) is a forgery. Where did the original go? When was it stolen? And who made the forgery? This is a book that begins as a crime novel might (and for that reason I picked this up and put it down no fewer than 3 times over the past few years), but through layers of narrative - the 1600s Dutch painter who made the painting after her only daughter dies, the 1950s lone conservationist who makes the forgery - it becomes a story about the people we are, or wish we were, or are trying to be. The author has an impeccable sense of which details to include, and doesn’t rush. It has lots of heart. I could tell the author really liked his characters - and found their flaws endearing, or at least, forgivable.
What a interesting and cleverly crafted novel.
Random Thoughts:
* The three time periods are done exceptionally well. I enjoyed them all and didn't want to read one more than the others.
* It's extremely well paced. In the 1950s, we wait to see what revenge Marty enacts on Ellie as punishment for the forgery. In the 2000s, we wonder whether the appearance of the forgery will ruin Ellie's life. I'm the worst at suspense and if a book doesn't hold my interest I'll rush through it because I need to know It wasn't the case with this novel at all.
* Smith deftly ties it all together at the end. The cross over chapter at the end was a perfect way to finish the journey.
Loved it.
second reading:
* had to skip the chapter where MdG enacts his revenge upon Ellie this time. Just couldn't read it again.
* weirdly I was hoping the daughter wouldn't die this time. But then we would't have the novel.
Random Thoughts:
* The three time periods are done exceptionally well. I enjoyed them all and didn't want to read one more than the others.
* It's extremely well paced. In the 1950s, we wait to see what revenge Marty enacts on Ellie as punishment for the forgery. In the 2000s, we wonder whether the appearance of the forgery will ruin Ellie's life. I'm the worst at suspense and if a book doesn't hold my interest I'll rush through it because I need to know It wasn't the case with this novel at all.
* Smith deftly ties it all together at the end. The cross over chapter at the end was a perfect way to finish the journey.
Loved it.
second reading:
* had to skip the chapter where MdG enacts his revenge upon Ellie this time. Just couldn't read it again.
* weirdly I was hoping the daughter wouldn't die this time. But then we would't have the novel.
Eh. This book was ok. Dual timelines are all the rage now and this book had three timelines going which was just more than I like to follow. I seemed to get distracted as I listened which is unusual for me. I liked the overall story and became more engaged towards the last third. I learned some about the Dutch guilds and women painters of the time - or more about why there were not many women painters of the time. It was a decent read, maybe better to read rather than listen.
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos takes you to Amsterdam in the 1600's, back to the art guilds, the plague, and the predicament of a talented woman in a man's society. Sara's life story begins on an ominous note - she, her painter husband, Barent, and her daughter Kathrijn, have gone on an excursion to see a beached whale. The trip begins the unraveling of her life - the death of her only child, the bankruptcy and disappearance of her husband, and her assignment painting at an abandoned village and new life. The book also is set in Manhattan, in the late 1950's. There, we meet a man Marty de Groot, whose family has owned a painting by Sara de Vos for hundred's of years. During a party, the painting is somehow stolen and replaced with a forgery that was painted by a young Australian art student named Ellie Shipley studying at Columbia. The book alternates chapters of Sara, Marty, and Ellie's viewpoints. We then fast forward to Sydney, Australia in the year 2000, where Ellie is now a museum curator and respected professor. She is planning an exhibit of Dutch masters, and the Sara de Vos original painting, "At the Edge of a Wood" and her forgery are sent to be displayed. How is the crisis handled? What happened to Sara? Was this truly her last painting? - It is all revealed in an interesting way - throughly enjoyed this book.
I am not an eloquent writer so this review will be short and plain.
I wish I could give this book 10 stars! The best book I’ve ever read. The layers of centuries past so intricately woven together ❤️ Prachtig!
I wish I could give this book 10 stars! The best book I’ve ever read. The layers of centuries past so intricately woven together ❤️ Prachtig!