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A review by thebooknerdscorner
Saving Vincent: A Novel of Jo van Gogh by Joan Fernandez

3.0

The little-known story of Jo van Gogh, the woman who saved Vincent van Gogh's art from obscurity. 

It's 1891 and Jo is living in the shadow of her husband, Theo van Gogh, an art dealer determined to sell unknown artists. When Theo suddenly passes away, Jo is forced to take things into her own hands. She opens a boardinghouse rather than move back in with her father, freeing her from the burdens of her family. Unwilling to let the van Gogh name fade into obscurity, Jo takes it upon herself to force the art world to take Vincent van Gogh seriously. 

I'm gonna be completely honest here: I know literally nothing about art history and picked up this book to see if it is something that interested me. I'm gonna say I'll pass next time. Despite the fact that I was greatly bored by over half of this book, I still feel that it is a well-written, well-researched book that showcases the power of a woman who risked everything to defy tradition and stand up for what she believes in. Stories like this are super important, and I'm glad that someone is showing Jo van Gogh the respect that she deserves. She does so much for a man that she only met a handful of times and whose family she was a part of for little over a year. This type of dedication is inspirational, and I hope people find solace in Jo's story. 

Upon finishing this book, I was shocked to learn that Raulf was a fictional character. Raulf is the art dealer that constantly faces against Jo and refuses to let van Gogh's work enter the Paris scene. He was the perfect addition to this story to keep constant pressure on Jo's endeavors that otherwise would have been a lot slower paced. The author did a wonderful job condensing all of van Gogh's critics into one entity who kept the story rolling. 

Overall, "Saving Vincent" is a book that is totally out of my typical genres that I read. Despite this, I didn't hate my time with this book, though I did find it to be incredibly slow and boring at times. I'm glad that this book notified me of Jo van Gogh's existence and gave me the chance to appreciate all she did for the art world. I have little interest in the history of art, but I can still look up to Jo's dedication to go against the norm and never give up on her ideals.