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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
The protagonist, Christina, was not a very interesting person so the novel ultimately failed also to be compelling. I listened to the audio version while completing household tasks, and it did the job.
Love the combination of her narrative with historical elements.
Maybe because I live in Andrew Wyeth’s PA backyard, and seen much of his and his family’s work at the Brandywine Museum, this book brought Christina’s World to life. Alternating between Christina’s life and when Andy entered her life, it is lovingly drawn.
I have been looking forward to this book for so long after loving "Orphan Train." So I'm sad to give it such a low rating due to my disappointment.
I wish I had realized it was based on a real painting. I wish I felt more satisfied with the ending. The writing is lovely, but the main character is (somewhat understandably) bitter about the hand life has dealt her. By the close of the book, I felt sorry for her, but I didn't like her much.
And the ending was very anticlimactic for me. I get what she was going for but I felt empty. While this was a thoughtful telling of a complicated life, it was a life in which not much happened. I was 85% done with the book, expecting something dramatic to happen in the final few pages, but when I turned the page, it was over. Author's notes. No more story.
I wish I had realized it was based on a real painting. I wish I felt more satisfied with the ending. The writing is lovely, but the main character is (somewhat understandably) bitter about the hand life has dealt her. By the close of the book, I felt sorry for her, but I didn't like her much.
And the ending was very anticlimactic for me. I get what she was going for but I felt empty. While this was a thoughtful telling of a complicated life, it was a life in which not much happened. I was 85% done with the book, expecting something dramatic to happen in the final few pages, but when I turned the page, it was over. Author's notes. No more story.
A textured and highly readable novel, showcasing Baker Kline's talent for evoking the rural lifestyle of early 20th century Maine. But look elsewhere if you want to read in any depth about Andrew Wyeth. He is a spectral presence in this book, often clomping around in his makeshift painting studio on the third floor of the narrator's home but rarely engaging with the other characters.
This is not a bad or dull book by any measure, but readers looking for an examination of the artistic mindset will be disappointed.
This is not a bad or dull book by any measure, but readers looking for an examination of the artistic mindset will be disappointed.
This was ok. Didn’t feel nearly as connected to the characters as I did with ‘Orphan Train’.
Sensitive, careful and unflinching adaptation of the life of Christina Olsen and her relationship with the artist Andrew Wyeth. I'll probably be thinking about this one for a little while . . . what compels a person to overcome, accept, resign or succumb or a combination of all of the above?
My parents, especially my dad, loved Andrew Wyeth’s paintings. I lived near Chadds Ford and now live in southern Maine, so many of his paintings really do take me home. Christina’s World has not been a favorite because it’s so bleak - or is it? I suppose that’s the wonder of art; it can strike you differently depending on your mood or memories when viewing. (Her pink dress is so springtime hopeful; the brown grass is late-fall anxious. The house is so far away. Her body language is painful…or is it wistful? And is she trying to return, or is she looking back one more time as she crawls to her escape?) So I wanted to love this book. I didn’t. It suffered from a slow, predictable plot, mostly - though I appreciate the author’s attention to detail; her love for and connection to Christina really is the glue that holds the book together. That glue will make it will stick with me…the way the painting does.
This book was very, very good. Although I do not focus on books about strong or misused women, I seem to have gravitated to that recently. I was not sure what to think of this Christina: was she strong or weak? How would I have tolerated an existence like hers? And yet, she is immortalized in this beautiful painting.
I love books that make me think long after the book is finished.
I love books that make me think long after the book is finished.