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tartcherry's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
chrisl1224's review against another edition
5.0
You know when you’re sitting by the window and it’s raining outside and you’re cozily wrapped in a blanket with nothing pressing to do? That’s the feeling of this book, at least to me. Beautiful descriptions and thoughtful detail, and a truly unique story. What a treat.
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition
5.0
This is a marvelous book, a wonderful read. Novels about great painters have been attracting readers since, oh, let's say "Girl with a Pearl Earring." Some of these novels work better than others but "The Last Painting of Sara de Vos" works in all ways and is a pleasure from start to finish.
Sara de Vos is not a famous painter, but she was the first woman to be admitted to the painters guild. Women during the Dutch Golden Age painted still life but Sara also painted scenes with haunting characters, such as "At the Edge of the Wood," the painting this novel is all about. Sara and her husband are both painters, and when the novel opens they have fallen afoul of the Guild's many rules and are struggling to right their careers and livelihoods.
The second branch of the story is set in the 1950s when a young art restorer is hired to forge a copy of the painting, which hangs in the Manhattan home of a Dutch American banker whose family has owned the painting for 400 years.
And then, it's 2000 and both the original and the forgery will come together at an exhibition in Sydney with Ellie, the forger, now a respected art history professor, speaking about Sara's work.
Come on, who could resist ANY of this? Each thread of the story is completely developed and the characters are rich and believable. You learn a lot about the Dutch Golden Age of painting, Rembrandt, Franz Hals, their use of light, the love of Dutch people of all classes for painting. This novel is a treat and a pleasure.
Sara de Vos is not a famous painter, but she was the first woman to be admitted to the painters guild. Women during the Dutch Golden Age painted still life but Sara also painted scenes with haunting characters, such as "At the Edge of the Wood," the painting this novel is all about. Sara and her husband are both painters, and when the novel opens they have fallen afoul of the Guild's many rules and are struggling to right their careers and livelihoods.
The second branch of the story is set in the 1950s when a young art restorer is hired to forge a copy of the painting, which hangs in the Manhattan home of a Dutch American banker whose family has owned the painting for 400 years.
And then, it's 2000 and both the original and the forgery will come together at an exhibition in Sydney with Ellie, the forger, now a respected art history professor, speaking about Sara's work.
Come on, who could resist ANY of this? Each thread of the story is completely developed and the characters are rich and believable. You learn a lot about the Dutch Golden Age of painting, Rembrandt, Franz Hals, their use of light, the love of Dutch people of all classes for painting. This novel is a treat and a pleasure.
pixiebrown's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
joshhall13's review against another edition
4.0
Grief comes at us all at some point. It's an unbalanced emotion though. It's more like a force than an emotion in a way. It's a boulder on your chest, making breath difficult.
It makes me think, the imbalance of grief. Each emotion has a nearly equal opposite. Love could be it's counterweight. But love has hate,and all the other baggage it carries. There's Elation. But that's so fleeting that it can hardly compare to Grief. Euphoria? Not equal unless sustained unnaturally through chemicals.
Why is Grief such a destabilizer? I don't have the answer, but I know the answer is found, at least partially, in artwork. Art had an abundance of grief... and desire, but the two are on the same spectrum. To desire something is a grievance that you cannot or do not contain that something.
So, a transcendent and creative art piece communicates so much grief that it takes it away from the artist. At least, in part.
This book? It was great. It raised a lot of questions, and I enjoyed the fiction this author built around the artworks.
It makes me think, the imbalance of grief. Each emotion has a nearly equal opposite. Love could be it's counterweight. But love has hate,and all the other baggage it carries. There's Elation. But that's so fleeting that it can hardly compare to Grief. Euphoria? Not equal unless sustained unnaturally through chemicals.
Why is Grief such a destabilizer? I don't have the answer, but I know the answer is found, at least partially, in artwork. Art had an abundance of grief... and desire, but the two are on the same spectrum. To desire something is a grievance that you cannot or do not contain that something.
So, a transcendent and creative art piece communicates so much grief that it takes it away from the artist. At least, in part.
This book? It was great. It raised a lot of questions, and I enjoyed the fiction this author built around the artworks.
carolann331's review
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
goodin10tions's review
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
geoffreylittle's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable romp through 17th, mid-20th, and early 21st century. All based around the single painting that has endured. A writer's writer, author Dominic Smith has masterful control of language.