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ljhind's review
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jillx27's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book that is set over 3 time periods in 3 cities. You have to read the chapter titles to see where and when each chapter is set but it is done brilliantly.
Amsterdam, 1630s Sara de Vos has lost her daughter and her husband leaves so is left in reduced circumstances. A patrons sees a painting Sara did of a barefooted girl watching children skating on a lake (The Edge of the Wood). He sought her out and employers her to paint a model of an abandoned village.
Sara stays with her patron, falls in love with the stable hand and produces more paintings.
Sara's painting is handed down in a family for 300 years and we join the story in New York in the 1950s. Marty de Groot, a successful lawyer owns the painting. One day he notices his painting has been replaced with a forgery and he is determined to find out who has violated his trust.
Ellie is a young Australian art restorer scraping by in New York while finishing her Art thesis. She paints the forgery thinking it is just for security reasons for the the owner.
Marty finds out Ellie did the forgery, befriends her and seduces her. Ellie does not realise Marty is the true owner of the forgery and allows herself to be seduced. Once Marty has done what he wants he abandons Ellie.
Ellie is so hurt and confused she flees to Europe.
Sydney 2000, Ellie is a professor of Art at Sydney University curating an exhibition of female Dutch painters. Both versions of The Edge of the Wood are about to arrive in Sydney as well as the other painting Sara did - The Funeral Procession.
Marty is an old man bringing his painting to the exhibition. He is truly sorry for what he did to Ellie. Ellie is truly sorry for forging Marty's painting. They agree that each has lived a life full of regrets.
The end of this tale ties everything up nicely. I was captivated until the end and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
Amsterdam, 1630s Sara de Vos has lost her daughter and her husband leaves so is left in reduced circumstances. A patrons sees a painting Sara did of a barefooted girl watching children skating on a lake (The Edge of the Wood). He sought her out and employers her to paint a model of an abandoned village.
Sara stays with her patron, falls in love with the stable hand and produces more paintings.
Sara's painting is handed down in a family for 300 years and we join the story in New York in the 1950s. Marty de Groot, a successful lawyer owns the painting. One day he notices his painting has been replaced with a forgery and he is determined to find out who has violated his trust.
Ellie is a young Australian art restorer scraping by in New York while finishing her Art thesis. She paints the forgery thinking it is just for security reasons for the the owner.
Marty finds out Ellie did the forgery, befriends her and seduces her. Ellie does not realise Marty is the true owner of the forgery and allows herself to be seduced. Once Marty has done what he wants he abandons Ellie.
Ellie is so hurt and confused she flees to Europe.
Sydney 2000, Ellie is a professor of Art at Sydney University curating an exhibition of female Dutch painters. Both versions of The Edge of the Wood are about to arrive in Sydney as well as the other painting Sara did - The Funeral Procession.
Marty is an old man bringing his painting to the exhibition. He is truly sorry for what he did to Ellie. Ellie is truly sorry for forging Marty's painting. They agree that each has lived a life full of regrets.
The end of this tale ties everything up nicely. I was captivated until the end and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
melvankomen's review against another edition
5.0
This book really surprised me. I picked it up for a quick airplane read with the hope that it would be entertaining -- that's a pretty low expectation for me. What I found was a nuanced, richly detailed mystery with complex characters. The author did a masterful job in weaving together multiple timelines and fleshing out the humanity of his complicated main characters. I also enjoyed the settings -- such contrast between Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Dutch countryside, upstate New York.
melvankomen's review against another edition
5.0
This book really surprised me. I picked it up for a quick airplane read with the hope that it would be entertaining -- that's a pretty low expectation for me. What I found was a nuanced, richly detailed mystery with complex characters. The author did a masterful job in weaving together multiple timelines and fleshing out the humanity of his complicated main characters. I also enjoyed the settings -- such contrast between Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Dutch countryside, upstate New York.
kellee's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lass_pokebelle's review against another edition
4.0
This is not a book I usually would have picked up, but I am so glad I did. I loved the different perspectives telling the whole story, moving backward and forward in time. The story was riveting to the last page. I felt I knew all of the characters intimately, especially Ellie, I could associate with her. Looking forward to Book Club to discuss this further
eowyns_helmet's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely exploration of painting, life, forgery, loss. Beautifully written.
alundeberg's review against another edition
3.0
I started out liking this book a lot and then not so much. First-- it has the settings I would like: 17th Century Netherlands, 1950's Manhattan, and present day Sydney. It's about little known 17th century Dutch women artists, and Vermeer is discussed a lot. It's about women's lack of recognition in the art world-- not just as artists, but as museum curators and restorers. It's about the nature of forgery and creation. So far everything's a win. Then a wealthy, older, white man finds out that his heirloom (one that he doesn't even like that much) has been stolen and forged and seeks payback from the young, vulnerable female college student who was manipulated by another unscrupulous man into creating forgery. Of course, what he takes from her in exchange is far greater than his painting and his pride. At that point I started skimming the rest of the book. I was frustrated by the author who put forth a rather feminist text only to fall back on the same old trope of man putting woman into place and basically getting away with it scot-free, but who also didn't want to acknowledge that this is what he did as an author. It's like he wants to be a feminist storyteller, but cannot punish the man for his wrong-doing.
debr's review against another edition
5.0
This book, like its subject, is a masterpiece. The technique of tying together time periods by moving between past and present chapters is a highly used, and sometimes can feel overused, method, but in this book it is so beautifully and lovingly accomplished I can hardly think of a better example of this approach. Smith is an accomplished storyteller and gifted writer, and makes each of his major characters come to life completely as individuals. Such a great read.
michael5000's review
4.0
2016 -- I think this is my favorite entry to date in the "modern middlebrow fiction set against a backdrop of Golden Age Dutch Master Art" genre.
2022 -- A surprising and mildly alarming aspect of my longstanding re-reading project is how little you sometimes remember about books you've read. Not only did I not recall the scenario and plot of this book, I didn't even remember its nature correctly. The upside is that, having misremembered it as tiresome fluff, I got the pleasant surprise of revisiting a good novel! And, although I began to recall the liniments once I got going, I wasn't able to anticipate events.
Now, it's possible that this will turn out to be the sad, sad little review where my memory loss issues were visible for the first time, but I don't think so. I think this is weirdly normal -- that everybody remembers less about books, even books that they quite like, than they think they do.
2022 -- A surprising and mildly alarming aspect of my longstanding re-reading project is how little you sometimes remember about books you've read. Not only did I not recall the scenario and plot of this book, I didn't even remember its nature correctly. The upside is that, having misremembered it as tiresome fluff, I got the pleasant surprise of revisiting a good novel! And, although I began to recall the liniments once I got going, I wasn't able to anticipate events.
Now, it's possible that this will turn out to be the sad, sad little review where my memory loss issues were visible for the first time, but I don't think so. I think this is weirdly normal -- that everybody remembers less about books, even books that they quite like, than they think they do.