3.77 AVERAGE


This fictionalization of Christina Olson, muse and subject of Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World, is a tender, gut-wrenching look at the life of a woman who is limited by disability, family, and rural life. Her pure grit is astounding to me. Although her life is small, she is fully rendered with all the contradictions and depth of human experience. And, not that there was any doubt, it reaffirms my knowledge that I would not have fared well in a time without electricity and indoor plumbing!

Kline has a knack for bringing to life some small pieces of history and she does a masterful job in this story of Christina, the muse for Andrew Wyeth's painting Christina's World. Kline's near poetic language recreates the people, place, and time. Good book for a book group.
slow-paced

I liked the idea of this book -- being based on a real painting called "Christina's World" by Andrew Wyeth. But ultimately it was just a very sad tale.

I needed a minute to try and figure our why I felt connected to this book. Because truth be told, the story is really just ho-hum. The author doesn't do a very good job of grabbing your attention and making you want to know what happens next. My connection is with Christina. I, too, have a disease that attacks my legs and hands and takes away my ability to walk, and may one day force me back into a wheelchair. I felt connected to her spirit, to her determination, to her pridefullness, to her heartbreak, to her dreams. For that reason I wanted to know her story and what happens to her more so than "The girl behind the painting". Because of my connection with her, I give this a 3.75 star rating. Had it not been for that connection, I think I would have had a difficult time getting through this book. She made this book memorable to me, without that connection it wouldn't be. Having said that, I'm still glad I read this book.
challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and imaging the woman behind "Christina's World" was powerful. The experience was made more vivid a week later when I saw a retrospective celebrating the Centennial of Andrew Wyeth's birth at the Greenville County Museum of Art. It featured a number of his Maine paintings, most notably a striking portrait of Christina done about a decade after "Christina's World." Altogether a moving experience.

Could not even finish it . Ugh

I read this book, having no idea when I started, that it was based in truth. This is the story written around the development of the famous painting, Christina's World by Andrew Wythe, and the life of the woman who was the main subject. Christina was born with a physical disability that created obstacles in her having a normal life. That, combined with a love interest that leaves her high and dry, shackles her to the house that she grew up in, and will never leave. My heart broke for this character, who never go the opportunity to venture out and experience life more fully.

Her encounter with the painter, his process, relationship with her, and his methods for capturing her life in a single painting, were very interesting to read. This was not by any means an uplifting story, but it certainly was a story that drew me in.