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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.
esshgee's review against another edition
4.0
4 1/2 stars. This book was a fabulous read, I enjoyed the description of the different time periods and found it wonderfully evocative. Such beautiful writing, particularly the 17th century timeline. Highly recommend!
bookcooklook's review against another edition
3.0
This charming book is an art lover's dream: lots of history, mystery and talk of brushwork. There are two parallel stories of women artists in different centuries: a master Dutch painter, and the talented forger who copies her work. The book has one stolen painting, more than a few broken hearts, and beautifully connected themes of regret and redemption.
kraley's review against another edition
3.0
This book reminded me of The Swan Thieves and The Girl with the Pearl earring in the way the stories bounced back and forth between the past and the present. This started out pretty darn slow, but by the time the beatniks depart, it's pace is better. As with other books about paintings,I wanted to see and stare at this painting. After the DiVinci code, didn't you go and peruse all of those works? Eleanor stares and stares at the painting and I left the book feeing like a picture is worth more than a thousand words because I still am left wanting. We are reading this for book club and I know it will. Ring in some interesting discussion.
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2018/09/11/day-1261-the-last-painting-of-sara-de-vos/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2018/09/11/day-1261-the-last-painting-of-sara-de-vos/
toniclark's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful read — engrossing story, interesting characters, and really good writing. I'll try to return and write a proper review, but this is just to say that I recommend it highly!
jacki_f's review against another edition
3.0
This is a multi-layered story about a painter in 17th century Holland (Sara de Vos) and about the owner of one of her paintings in 20th century New York. Marty de Groot's family have owned the painting for 300 years, but one day he realises that it has been stolen and replaced with a replica. That forgery was painted by a young Australian art restorer called Ellie Shipley. Forty years later, Ellie will be curating an exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, and both the original and the forged copy of the painting will be offered to the gallery. Hence the story moves between 17th century Holland, 1950s New York and Sydney in the year 2000.
I felt pretty ambivalent about this book. There were parts of it that flew past, but also parts that dragged. I enjoyed reading it, but it was also one of those books that I never felt the urge to pick up again or thought about when I wasn't reading it. I never felt invested in the characters. They were competently drawn but they failed to interest me. In fact, that's probably an apt way to summarise how I felt about the entire book: competently crafted, well written, but just not sufficiently interesting.
I felt pretty ambivalent about this book. There were parts of it that flew past, but also parts that dragged. I enjoyed reading it, but it was also one of those books that I never felt the urge to pick up again or thought about when I wasn't reading it. I never felt invested in the characters. They were competently drawn but they failed to interest me. In fact, that's probably an apt way to summarise how I felt about the entire book: competently crafted, well written, but just not sufficiently interesting.
essjay1's review against another edition
3.0
Very Louis de Bernieres. Good storyline & I liked the way the three time periods intertwined. A bit predictable though. Oddly enough, the US spelling in my edition did not bother me at all in the New York sections yet had me gritting my teeth when I got to Sydney. But to be honest, by then I was bored and looking for trouble!