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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
This is historical fiction at its finest. The writing was superb and expertly crafted. It was like all my senses were heightened and I was there- on the coast of Maine. Feeling the salt air, tasting the breeze. It's about the choices we make... or don't make. Love, responsibility, fate, family and life. Read it.
A print of Christina's World hung over our record player (ok, I'm dating myself) for my entire childhood. I loved studying what Kine calls a combination of "desire and hesitation." This is a beautiful tribute to both Christina and Wyeth. I am thrilled to have learned more about both their interaction and their private lives. It seems the painting was destined to be made.
Pretty much every story has a conflict driving the plot; this story has no clear conflict. Swinging between the 1940's, when Christina met Wyeth, and Christina's childhood years, each timeline reads like a memoir (in first person) instead of fiction. On one hand this is a brilliant tool; on the other, it falls flat at times. I think Kline's writing shines more in the second half of the book than the first.
When I finished, I felt I would like to read more about these people's lives; Kline hooked me on the topic. I also see so much anew in a painting I thought I knew inside and outside as a child.
It makes me feel a life is more than one major conflict; unlike a story, it recounts a series of conflicts that add up to something epic and lasting.
Pretty much every story has a conflict driving the plot; this story has no clear conflict. Swinging between the 1940's, when Christina met Wyeth, and Christina's childhood years, each timeline reads like a memoir (in first person) instead of fiction. On one hand this is a brilliant tool; on the other, it falls flat at times. I think Kline's writing shines more in the second half of the book than the first.
When I finished, I felt I would like to read more about these people's lives; Kline hooked me on the topic. I also see so much anew in a painting I thought I knew inside and outside as a child.
It makes me feel a life is more than one major conflict; unlike a story, it recounts a series of conflicts that add up to something epic and lasting.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth is one of my favorite paintings and the inspiration for Baker Cline’s historical fiction novel. The descriptive prose and snapshot of this piece of the world (an appropriate title) are as vivid as Wyeth’s painting. I enjoyed this beautiful short read.
From the book:
"Do our natures dictate the choices we make, I wonder, or do we choose to live in a certain way because of circumstances beyond our control? Perhaps these questions are impossible to tease apart because, like a tangle of seaweed on a rock, they are connected at the root. I think of those long-ago Hathorns, determined beyond all reason to leave the past behind - and we, their descendants, inheritors of their contrarian tenacity, sticking it out, one generation after the next, until every last one of us ends up in the graveyard at the bottom of the field."
"What she wants most - what she truly yearns for - any of us want: to be seen."
"Do our natures dictate the choices we make, I wonder, or do we choose to live in a certain way because of circumstances beyond our control? Perhaps these questions are impossible to tease apart because, like a tangle of seaweed on a rock, they are connected at the root. I think of those long-ago Hathorns, determined beyond all reason to leave the past behind - and we, their descendants, inheritors of their contrarian tenacity, sticking it out, one generation after the next, until every last one of us ends up in the graveyard at the bottom of the field."
"What she wants most - what she truly yearns for - any of us want: to be seen."
reflective
sad
medium-paced
This was kind of blah. Almost like watching your neighbors nonstop waiting for something interesting to happen but then it doesn't. Don't get me wrong...it wasn't bad but it was one you could skip and not regret.
I was lucky enough to win an ARE of this book. What a beautifully written piece of work. I think the author's ability to "paint" her scenes (no pun intended!) rather than just show you is what kept me drawn in. It really evokes the tone of the time period and the setting of the New England shore. I do think I liked the previous book better but I still enjoyed this one.