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jhbandcats's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I confess I found the cover so unappealing that I was prepared to hate the book. I did not hate the book; I loved the book.
The writing is beautiful and descriptive in a way that lets you feel the biting cold of skating in a Dutch winter or the heat and humidity in a cheap Brooklyn apartment. Perhaps because the book is about painters and paintings, the author has worked especially hard on giving his words a painterly character. I felt a part of the story, whether in the Netherlands in the 1600s, in New York in the 1950s, or in Sydney, Australia, at the turn of the millennium.
I loved the characters, both those who gradually proved themselves unattractive or those who initially appeared unpleasant but who grew on me. I loved learning about the art worlds 350 years apart, the details of painting, the smells of paints and the work of how those paints were made. I especially loved the dual stories, the way the characters were fleshed out.
A beautiful work of historical fiction that includes some recent history as well.
The writing is beautiful and descriptive in a way that lets you feel the biting cold of skating in a Dutch winter or the heat and humidity in a cheap Brooklyn apartment. Perhaps because the book is about painters and paintings, the author has worked especially hard on giving his words a painterly character. I felt a part of the story, whether in the Netherlands in the 1600s, in New York in the 1950s, or in Sydney, Australia, at the turn of the millennium.
I loved the characters, both those who gradually proved themselves unattractive or those who initially appeared unpleasant but who grew on me. I loved learning about the art worlds 350 years apart, the details of painting, the smells of paints and the work of how those paints were made. I especially loved the dual stories, the way the characters were fleshed out.
A beautiful work of historical fiction that includes some recent history as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Classism, Abandonment, Grief, Infertility, and Sexism
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